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Chapter 77: 017: You’d better come out and take a look.
"I’ll give you an additional reward of two thousand Magic Stones when we return to the Tower."
After saying this, Avery led the knights onto the boat and silently moved toward the island through the breach Lynch had opened.
Watching the small boat gradually disappear into the night, Lynch frowned and muttered the words he’d wanted to say but hadn’t:
"Saying something like that before the war begins... it’s not very auspicious."
Lucas wasn’t wrong; Lynch was indeed afraid... no, "afraid" might not be the right word—more accurately, it was disgust.
Lynch was not a belligerent person. He detested war and abhorred conflict. Compared to the life-or-death struggles of warfare, all he wanted was to study and learn in a stable environment.
Ultimately, truth and eternity were his pursuits. Wars could not assist him with that—they only brought risks and obstacles.
Anything that hindered his pursuit of the Wizard’s Road would face his rejection.
"Let’s hope everything goes smoothly."
He shook his head and left the deck, returning to the cabin where he lit his lantern and pulled out a book, resuming his studies and cultivation.
A few hours later.
Ghost Island.
Having just experienced a massacre, Ghost Island was strewn with corpses lying in disarray.
Avery had led the knights to the center of the island, where they stood at the foot of a mountain. Within the center of the mountain was a massive cave eroded by seawater.
Thanks to their meticulous preparation, the attack had gone unusually well—when their assault began, the Black Wizard faction stationed on the island had been caught entirely unawares, unable to organize even a semblance of resistance before being crushed.
The followers suffered heavy casualties, with two Low-level Apprentices slain on the spot. The remaining three Low-level Apprentices and one Mid-level Apprentice sustained injuries of varying severity and fled in panic with their surviving followers into the cave.
Standing at the cave entrance, Avery asked Count Edmund, "Edmund, what’s the situation around here?"
"All taken care of."
Edmund wiped the blood off his Cross Sword and said with satisfaction, "Those damn black rats were completely unprepared for our sudden attack. We’ve cleared all their outer strongholds, eliminating thirty-three of them, with sixty-five surrendering."
He gritted his teeth and added, "Those vermin who colluded with the Black Wizards—wait until I hang them all!"
Since this Black Wizard organization appeared here, his territory had known no peace. Fishermen vanished frequently at sea, and even entire villages and towns suffered attacks.
To make matters worse, these scum seemed to be growing bolder, attempting to expand their influence here. They started recruiting outlaws and forming armed groups, even brazenly soliciting skilled fighters straight from the city’s Duel Arena.
The knights he’d dispatched had failed to return. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, he had no choice but to seek help from the Shadow Tower.
Avery nodded. "Well done."
After pausing for a moment, she issued further orders: "Leave some men here to guard the entrance; the rest will follow me inside."
"Understood."
Soon, the knights and soldiers gathered at the cave entrance. Before entering, Avery left Lucas behind to assist the troops in securing the entry point.
Lucas was deeply dissatisfied with this arrangement. "Why am I stuck guarding the outside?"
At a time when they could earn glory through combat achievements, he naturally didn’t want to be left out.
Avery’s voice was firm. "This is an order!"
Lucas simmered with frustration but ultimately said no more.
Avery softened her tone. "Relax, no one will take your share of the credit. We’re a team now—guarding the entrance and ensuring our escape route is equally critical."
Lucas’s expression finally eased.
Avery led the knights inside.
After trekking for more than ten minutes and crossing a long, shallow riverbank, the group arrived at the deeper part of the cave.
Upon entering, they realized the interior space of this cave was extraordinarily vast. Its visible range alone was several kilometers across, and its height towered hundreds of meters. It was filled with jagged stalactites, towering stone columns, and water pools of various sizes.
The air was incredibly humid, each breath chillingly filling their lungs.
The area was too massive, and the trails and bloodstains on the ground had been washed away by the river. After consideration, Avery divided the soldiers into pairs to spread out and search.
"Master, we’ve found something over here!"
Not long after, a soldier ran to report.
When Avery’s group followed him, they found over a dozen corpses lying on the cold ground, all of them followers of the Black Wizard faction they’d chased into the cave.
"How did these... these people die?"
The soldiers exchanged bewildered looks.
When they’d first pursued the Black Wizards into the cave, those followers had been alive and well. Since entering, there hadn’t been any further clashes between both sides, yet here were their bodies.
Their deaths were gruesome. Most of the corpses were battered and mutilated beyond recognition.
Avery stepped forward, crouching down to examine the corpses carefully. Her expression changed abruptly.
She immediately issued an order: "Edmund, gather your men—we’re leaving here at once!"
Edmund was startled; he couldn’t understand why Avery would suddenly issue such a command when they were on the brink of delivering the enemy a fatal blow.
Nevertheless, he obeyed. "Understood!"
Since the start of the war, this young witch had demonstrated strategic brilliance. Every directive was meticulously planned and executed, with a calm demeanor in the face of all unexpected situations.
If she suddenly made such a decision, there was surely a reason.
Edmund hurriedly gathered the knights, who fortunately hadn’t spread out too far. Within moments, he quickly rounded them up.
The group hastened back toward the exit under Avery’s lead.
Adam approached Avery and asked, "Did something happen?"
Earlier, he too had been sent off to search for the enemy and hadn’t seen the corpses Avery had encountered.
Avery’s expression was grim. "There’s something here."
"I don’t know what it is, but its energy is at least on par with a High-level Apprentice. That thing killed the Black Wizards we’d driven into the cave!"
During her examination of the corpses, Avery had clearly sensed a substantial elemental energy reaction from them.
Adam was baffled. "A High-level Apprentice? How is that possible!"
They had spent extensive time gathering intelligence beforehand. How could they have missed something so deadly?
Before Avery could answer, sudden chaos erupted within the cave.
Beneath their feet, the ground suddenly lit up with a giant Magic Array. The solid ground instantly turned into loose sand, and over a dozen soldiers along with two knights at the front fell straight down.
"Help me!"
"What’s happening? The ground is... ah!"
"A monster! A... monster! Aah!!"
Before they could react, a chorus of horrified screams filled the air.
Within the shifting sands, something immense was churning violently. In mere moments, the soldiers caught in the sand were devoured entirely, leaving behind a burst of blood and torn limbs that splattered everywhere.
In just a few breaths, the trapped soldiers were silenced. Then, with a loud rumbling sound, a massive figure emerged from the ground.
It was a serpent.
A serpent of monstrous proportions, its body extending over a hundred meters long with a diameter as thick as a person’s height.
It surged out of the ground, coiling into hill-like rings that obstructed their path. Its gigantic, sinister head rose high, its crimson tongue flicking out between two enormous fangs, and its amber-colored, slit pupils fixated coldly upon them.
Avery and Adam were aghast. "The Ausen Giant Python!"
Anyone from the Wizard World would recognize this creature. It was a demonic beast of immense power, equivalent to a High-level Apprentice—the legendary Ausen Giant Python.
"How is this even possible..."
Avery and Adam were stunned. The Ausen Giant Python typically dwelled in inland areas with rich elemental energy, like the Dark Forest or Wetland Swamp. Remote oceanic islands like this lacked the conditions to sustain such a beast.
"Hehehe! Look what we’ve got here!"
"Jie Jie! Cavendish!"
"A fresh, young Cavendish!"
While the two were in shock, sinister laughter echoed from the darkness.
Near the Ausen Giant Python, several figures slowly emerged from the shadows.
They were all cloaked in pitch-black robes that shrouded them completely. Their bloodshot eyes gleamed with frenzied malice, their appearances akin to deranged lunatics.
Most notable were the vivid, crimson Hexagram symbols adorning their foreheads.
Avery’s pupils contracted as she blurted out a single term: "Blood Origin Cult!"
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Storm.
Lynch sat at a desk, flipping through a book, his brow deeply furrowed.
For some reason, he’d been unable to settle his mind today. He struggled to focus on studying—a rarity for him—and concepts that were usually clear came to him with difficulty.
It felt as though something was about to happen.
"Knock knock knock!"
Just then, an urgent knock sounded at his door, followed by a trembling voice. "Ma... Master Wizard, are you awake? We have an emergency to report."
Lynch stood up, grabbed his lantern, and opened the door.
In the narrow hallway outside, several sailors stood crowded together. Their faces were illuminated by lantern light, revealing varying degrees of fear and panic.
"What’s going on?" Lynch asked, puzzled.
A nearby sailor stammered, "It’s... it’s the sea... please come take a look."
Lynch followed the sailors out of the cabin and onto the deck.
And soon, he understood the source of their terror...
