Chapter 582: Chapter 294: Retreat, Sulfur, and Endless Darkness (Part 2)
Also dead, but compared to the other completely petrified and shattered remains in the cave, this man’s corpse is relatively intact, and shows no signs of petrification.
The fatal wound... is on the left side of the chest, a gaping hole that destroyed the heart, faintly allowing a view of the stone wall behind.
Around the edge of the wound, faint scorch marks can be detected.
In addition to the extremely strong stench of blood around the corpse, there is also a faint mix of strange sulfurous scorched smell.
Frowning unconsciously, Xia Nan asked Adeline beside him:
"This person... do you know him?"
"He was my previous teammate." Adeline stared tightly at the corpse ahead, with no sorrow on her face, just a bit of nervousness.
"To complete the upgrade mission, the association temporarily assigned me two senior adventurers who had just recently gained their professional level, he was one of them."
"Earlier the Petrified Lizard went mad and attacked us, another teammate should already be dead, and he and I scattered and fled."
"But afterward, the target of the Petrified Lizard was me, he should have gotten away."
"Yet here he is now..."
As she spoke halfway, Adeline suddenly caught sight of several clusters of peculiar mushrooms growing at the corner of the stone wall behind the corpse, with a grayish-white color like a rock, and a surface covered with scale-like network patterns.
"Gray Ointment Scale Fungus?"
"It seems this guy took the chance when the Petrified Lizard went out to chase me, circled around, and tried to harvest the mushrooms that were the mission’s target."
"But it seems he encountered some other danger and ended up dying in the cave."
Xia Nan, pondering, bent down to carefully observe the corpse before him.
Residual warmth remained on the body surface, muscles relaxed without the onset of rigor mortis, even the blood hadn’t completely coagulated, slowly oozing from the wound.
Clearly, the bald strong man had just recently died.
"In this way, it matches up with the scream from earlier."
"It’s just..."
His eyes fixated on the large wound on the strong man’s left chest, a sense of vigilance arose in his heart.
Though in his past life he was just an office worker and never studied human anatomy.
But ever since crossing over, having slain so many creatures, especially humanoid-shaped goblins, with hundreds accumulated over time, he had unwittingly taught himself some knowledge of biological structure.
The scorch marks around the wound should correspond to the sulfurous odor wafting through the air, yet the cut inside the wound was extraordinarily smooth, leaving no traces even on the most resilient sinew.
The power of this attack... was extraordinary.
And judging by the posture of the strong man’s corpse, it was not an ambush but a frontal, swift attack.
Rendering the newly-promoted professional utterly defenceless, turning him into a corpse.
A sense of danger arose within Xia Nan as his mind reacted instinctively.
Continuing forward, along the wall, into the deepest part of the lair.
The two found a few remnants of completely destroyed lizard eggs.
Adeline guessed right, the Petrified Lizard was indeed in its parenting period.
However, the clutch it was incubating had been massacred in the shell by an uninvited guest who intruded into the lair before they could hatch.
The sulfuric smell in the air grew stronger, scorch marks were evident on the cracked eggshells and the yet-to-form lizard embryos wrapped in mucus.
Besides that, Xia Nan keenly sensed the magic particles in the air gradually calming from their earlier disturbance.
Corrosive and chaotic, filled with negative energy.
Upon closer inspection, even the skin that came into contact felt a slight tingling, prickly sensation like static.
In consideration of the sulfur smell in the air...
The attacker’s characteristics were very obvious.
Most likely from the Bottomless Abyss or the evil creatures of the Bator Nine Prisons.
Acting decisively, Xia Nan turned to Adeline, who was also searching the cave, and whispered:
"There might be danger here, we should leave."
Adeline was momentarily bewildered by the words but nodded and replied without question:
"Understood."
Meanwhile, pointing towards the southwest part of the cave with her hand.
Xia Nan looked in the direction indicated by her hand.
And indeed saw a little over two meters high, pitch-black cave entrance sitting gloomily amongst the gray stones, seemingly leading deeper into the lair.
Like a ferocious beast lurking to devour, causing his heart to skip a beat, his sense of danger suddenly heightened.
"Ignore it, this place is a bit weird."
"Rashly entering without preparation might result in unnecessary danger."
After all, their task was already complete, there was no need for unexpected complications, putting themselves in extremely dangerous situations.
If a demon-like entity really shows up, his current strength might not be enough to handle it.
It was better to leave as soon as possible.
Of course, considering the arrival of such extradimensional evil, often accompanied by plots and disasters.
Being settled in River Valley Town and living a peaceful life, Xia Nan felt it necessary to report his findings and suspicions to the adventurer association upon returning to the town.
Not to mention receiving significant rewards, at least informing the higher-ups at the association’s branch to be prepared.
Adeline, who had climbed her way up to become a professional, naturally knew when to be greedy and when to retreat.
She quickly searched the cave with Xia Nan, confirming they didn’t miss any valuable loot, and also picked a few Gray Ointment Scale Fungus, leaving the Petrified Lizard’s lair together.
...
...
Meanwhile, below the lair, in some narrower, deeper corridor seemingly leading to the earth’s core.
Abi gasped, his heart still pounding wildly and not yet fully calmed down.
"Lord Saloyan, are you sure it’s really okay... That was a true professional, won’t anyone follow..."
"Rest assured." The low and magnetic male voice resonated in his skull, "No one will know it was you."
"And besides, it’s just a rookie who barely got their professional level, who would care?"
"Instead of worrying about that, why not savor the wonderful memory just now."
"Look... how those professionals usually carry themselves, as if they are naturally superior."
"But actually, they too are afraid, and they too can die."
"If you had the same conditions as they did, you would surely perform even better."
"Don’t you think so?"
The seductive voice was like clear water trickling through stone crevices, flowing into the depths of this young man’s heart.
Indeed... professionals didn’t seem to be such a big deal after all.
Abi had once thought that all adventurers who gained professional levels were like "Green Blood" or "Gray Sword" kind of big shots.
But just now, Lord Saloyan lent him just a tiny bit of power, and that ferociously intimidating professional, who seemed unbeatable, suddenly moved like a snail in his eyes.
He simply reached out a hand...
When Abi finally responded, the opponent’s heart had already been crushed by him.
Not even as hard as catching the wild chicken in his childhood, which he struggled to catch for half a day before finally managing to drain its blood.
Thinking of this, Abi couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Lord Saloyan really didn’t lie to him!
Whether the Gold Coins won at the casino or the bald adventurer who became a corpse.
As long as he followed Lord Saloyan’s instructions, there would absolutely be no mistake!
Thinking of this, Abi couldn’t help but feel his lips dry, a strange flame rising from the depths of his heart.
"My lord, you said... I also have a chance to become a professional in the future?"
"Of course!"
The usually gentle male voice now sounded so firm and resolute.
"Trust me, Abi, you are no worse than anyone."
"As long as you do as I say, all your dreams... will come true."
Hearing this, Abi nodded forcefully.
In the depths of his eyes flickered an unprecedented hope and determination, supported by the illusionary promise.
Ahead in the corridor were increasingly dense phosphorescent moss, distant sounds of flowing water, indistinguishable whispers echoing from the earth’s depths, and resembling a passage to Abyss Hell—
Unbounded darkness.