Chapter 90: Entering the Cave

"Are you sure they came too?" At the foot of the volcano, a group dressed in white uniforms had gathered. It was the Angel Guild that had just arrived.

Leading them was Anna, who was looking intently at Aron with furrowed brows.

Aron nodded. "The information came from the patrol. Moreover, before entering the secret realm, I had already received accurate intelligence that those bastards have secretly colluded with several families, aiming to seize the treasure in the secret realm…"

As he spoke, he clenched his teeth, his resolute face shrouded in a dark cloud, his eyes filled with hatred.

The bastards he referred to were the Night Blades.

During a previous official offline event, the Night Blades had sent people to attack unarmed players, causing large-scale chaos in the capital city.

If the authorities hadn't forcefully intervened and shut down all videos of that attack, the internet would have been in an uproar by now.

Facing the impending apocalypse and the sudden emergence of the Other World Game, the official stance remained ambiguous. Although they knew that the apocalypse would bring significant changes to the world, they had to suppress this information to maintain domestic stability.

So far, except for the official game forums, there was no information about the Other World on the internet.

To most ordinary people who hadn't obtained a game slot, this news was still unknown.

But the truth could not be concealed forever. The news of the apocalypse would eventually spread.

"Try to avoid contact with the foreign forces in the secret realm if possible. As for the Night Blades…" Anna's brows furrowed even more, as if she was worried about something.

The global situation was turbulent, with some small countries' governments already overthrown by subordinate forces.

The Angel Guild was established to prevent such occurrences. For now, the city family forces did not dare openly oppose the authorities.

However, the emergence of the Night Blades had disrupted this delicate balance.

"Based on the intelligence gathered over this period, I suspect the Night Blades aim to incite those families and launch a large-scale operation domestically." Aron said with a grim face.

Although he did not explicitly state the Night Blades' intentions, Anna understood well.

This time, the Angel Guild had brought two teams: one consisting of members recruited nationwide, and the other was a security team led by Aron, composed of selected military personnel.

The security team's task was to protect Angel Guild members in critical moments. Aron looked at Anna, awaiting her response.

"Don't forget our mission here." Anna said, shaking her head. "Once we leave the secret realm, you can deal with them however you want, but for now, no action."

Seeing Aron about to argue, Anna cut him off, "That's an order!"

"Fine." Aron could only sigh in resignation.

…

At the foot of the volcano.

Many players had already gathered in groups.

Most of them were guild members.

But there were also some temporary teams formed by players, each with at least twenty members. The forest outside the volcano had eliminated more than half of the players, and those who survived were the best among them.

Looking ahead, the entrance to a cave came into view.

It was clear that the cave led underground, but its interior was pitch black, hiding unknown dangers. The secret treasure of the realm was said to be hidden down there.

"Move out!" At that moment, the leader of a guild with nearly a hundred members stood on a rock and issued the command with great enthusiasm.

Immediately, the guild marched towards the cave entrance in an imposing manner.

Everyone's eyes were on them, their expressions complex. The lessons learned in the forest had made it clear that seeking treasure in this secret realm was far more challenging than they had imagined.

The guilds had not all remained idle at the foot of the volcano, wary of the potential dangers inside the cave.

"Let them scout the way first. I have a feeling that cave holds hidden dangers." one guild leader said gravely.

His body was covered in wounds, clearly inflicted by the Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders in the forest.

Others shared this cautious approach, not wanting to be the first to venture into the unknown. While being the first might mean finding the treasure, the odds were slim.

The cave entrance was a ten-meter-wide opening.

The hundred-strong guild marched in and vanished from sight within moments.

The crowd waited for about ten minutes, but there was no sign of activity inside. Suddenly, excitement sparked in the players' eyes.

"Guild leader! We should head in too. It seems safe since nothing has happened to them." someone urged.

"Yes, let's move quickly. They've been in there for a while. They might have found the treasure already. We shouldn't waste any more time."

"Quick, follow them in!"

"…"

A stir broke out among the crowd as many players could no longer contain their excitement. After making it through the forest, no one wanted to leave empty-handed.

Various guilds surged toward the cave like a tidal wave, fearing that any delay might allow others to claim the hidden treasure first.

In just over ten minutes, most of the guilds had already entered the cave, leaving only a few scattered players and smaller guilds outside.

These smaller guilds and self-organized player groups knew they had little chance of obtaining the main treasure, so they were more interested in finding rare equipment along the way and were not in such a hurry.

At the foot of the mountain, the players of the Green Ivy Group were growing increasingly restless, their eyes all on James.

Although they had lost some members while passing through the forest, the Green Ivy Group still had nearly a hundred players. While not as large as the biggest guilds, they still had a chance to compete for the secret treasure.

"James, when are we moving out?" a player couldn't help but ask.

James, deep in thought, didn't reply immediately. He scanned the surroundings, seemingly looking for something. Suddenly, he noticed a figure darting out of the forest not far away.

"Irving!" James shouted loudly as he recognized the face of the figure.

Half of the players in the Green Ivy Group had participated in the Battle of the Castle and recognized Irving. At this moment, they seemed to be on a high, their eyes shining with uncontrollable excitement.

"Irving, I think someone is calling us." Vicky said, looking at Irving emerging from the forest.

A faint smell of blood lingered around Irving, but his eyes were filled with excitement.

Not long after he emerged from the forest, a rustling sound came from behind. Turning towards it, he saw a swarm of Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders crawling out.

Vicky and Sophia were taken aback.

While they knew Irving had the ability to control exotic beasts, the sudden appearance of such a large group of Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders startled them.

"Where did you get so many Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders?" Vicky instinctively took a few steps back and asked, puzzled.

She remembered that when Irving was at the edge of the forest, he had only enslaved about a dozen Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders. But now, their numbers had multiplied several times over.

Standing beside her, Sophia seemed to suddenly understand something. Her tone was complex as she said, "Those people earlier... you left them in there to use them as bait, didn't you?"

"What else?" Irving smiled slightly. "Might as well let them be useful before they die..."

The forest was home to many groups of Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders. These crawling exotic beasts had a strong sense of perception and were attracted by the bloody scent of the group chasing Sophia. In no time, a large swarm of Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders had gathered.

Watching that group being devoured by the spiders, leaving nothing but bones, Irving then appeared and took all the gathered Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders under his control. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

With a slight thought, Irving opened his [Personal Information] interface.

[Class: Necromancer]

[Beginner Stage, Lv: 7 (14/180)]

[Skill: Tenfold Drop Rate]

[Equipment: Evil Source Wand (Legendary), Void Ring]

[Hidden Identity: Public Enemy Number One!]

[Player's Enslaved Exotic Beasts: Stone Golem Giants *9, Snow Shadow Headed Wolf *1, Snow Shadow Wolf *2, Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spider (Queen) *1, Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spider *43]

Irving's gaze lingered on the level bar and the count of enslaved exotic beasts displayed at the bottom. A more radiant smile spread across his face.

In just a short time, the number of Poisonous Fang Paralyzed Spiders in his exotic beast army had increased to 43, and his level had risen to Lv: 7.

For most players in the Other World, gaining strength meant accumulating experience by killing exotic beasts. Irving, however, took a different approach. For him, killing exotic beasts didn't increase his level. It only dropped equipment.

"All that work, and I only gained one level..." Irving shook his head, seemingly unsatisfied with the result.