The red liquid flowing at the bottom of the abyss was not too hot. When Li Ke and Vander got close, they only felt a little hot and could smell a pungent bloody odor.
"Li Ke, let me go first," Vander said seriously to Li Ke.
Li Ke shook his head. He understood what Vander meant, but in terms of individual strength, Li Ke was now far superior to Vander. Therefore, if any danger were to occur, the only thing Vander was better at than Li Ke was his amazing recovery ability.
But if Li Ke couldn't withstand the damage, then Vander couldn't either. He would collapse to the ground in no time, and until his injuries healed, he would be no different from waiting to die.
Moreover, even if Li Ke is weaker than Vander, Li Ke would not allow Vander to stand in front of him and risk his life for him.
Vander thought Jinx would be sad and grieving if something happened to Li Ke, but wouldn't Jinx also be sad and grieving if something happened to Vander?
Vander didn't want Jinx to be sad or upset, but neither did Li Ke.
Li Ke gestured to Vander, took a breath, and was the first to enter the blood pool.
Vander watched Li Ke's retreating figure, his fangs bared against his lips, and then he followed closely behind.
Li Ke and Vander entered the pool of blood, then descended, and arrived at an open space, a place resembling an underground ruin.
"Zaun. There's actually a place like this?!" Vander looked up, his eyes filled with horror, because just a dozen meters above him was the pool of blood he had seen when he came down, but while there was a pool of blood above, this place was an open space.
Vander didn't know how this was done, but what surprised him even more than the pool of blood floating above his head was the scene before him.
He looked around and saw that beneath the Grandstone Mine was a vast open area, covering nearly a thousand square meters.
Looking ahead are steps with missing corners, bearing the marks of history, probably dozens of steps in total. At the top stands an abandoned temple, three meters high and more than ten meters wide. The huge, dilapidated stone door bears traces of fire, and the surrounding area is littered with the corpses of various creatures.
Reptiles, rats, and the skeletons of unidentified animals that had been devoured—bone fragments of varying sizes were piled up densely around the temple, adding an eerie touch to the scene.
"That thing is inside?" Vander looked at the temple and swallowed hard.
"It should be." Li Ke nodded.
"Shall we go take a look?" Vander suggested after a moment's thought.
He felt that with his and Li Ke's combined strength, they could take on hundreds of Noxus soldiers, so they should be able to handle the monsters here too.
Hearing Vander's words, Li Ke shook his head and said softly, "No, Vander, let's go back now. That's enough."
At this distance, by the time Soul Blossom reaches Ahri, it will be enough for Ahri to perceive what exactly is inside.
Therefore, Li Ke decided not to take any risks. His original plan was simply to come down and make contact, gather some intelligence, and bring it back to Ahri. Now that he had gathered the intelligence, the mission was complete.
Go further in
The thought of entering that temple sent a chill down Li Ke's spine.
Because the scene right in front of us is just too eerie!
Vander wasn't a bad teammate. Seeing how cautious Li Ke was, he nodded and agreed with Li Ke's idea, preparing to climb back up to the top of the cave with Li Ke.
But as soon as they turned around, a murmured voice simultaneously echoed in their minds.
The voice was alluring, a hoarse, deep female voice that resonated directly in Li Ke's mind, causing his body to stiffen, his neck to twist back, his eyes to roll upwards, and a rush of blood to his body. But in the next second, the whites of Li Ke 'Li Ke eyes returned to normal, and the now-sane Li Ke shouted, "Vander, run!"
Vander reacted quickly, grabbing Li Ke by the back of his collar and tossing him onto his back.
He wasn't actually much faster than Li Ke, but given the current terrain, he had a significant advantage! Running with Li Ke his back would be much faster than Li Ke climbing up on his own!
With a "crack," the claws pierced the rock wall as easily as puncturing tofu. Vander ran wildly up the cliff face, with Li Ke hanging on his back, looking down.
"Not coming back"
"My child, I will give you strength, I will give you everything you desire."
"Come back, come back, come back!"
The voice in Li Ke's mind grew louder and louder, starting as a whisper and eventually becoming a frantic shout at Li Ke.
It seemed as if it was angry that Li Ke was staying away from it.
Whoosh—Boom!
With a loud bang, the blood pool churned, Li Ke watched helplessly as the blood pool shrank, turning into blood-red tentacles that reached out to grab Vander.
"I'll handle this, don't worry about it!" Li Ke shouted to Vander, gripping Vander's shoulder blade tightly with one hand, causing him pain. Vander endured the pain and ran, while Li Ke used his other hand to swat away the blood-red tentacles attacking from below.
Those tentacles were not tough; after being forcefully slapped by Li Ke, they scattered and turned into blood foam, but they would quickly coalesce again.
Vander was very fast, quickly reaching a high position, climbing dozens of meters every second.
"That thing is alive! It was watching us just now, it was luring us in!" Li Ke was still in shock, and Vander felt a chill run down his spine after hearing Li Ke's words.
He had suggested going in to check out the temple because it wasn't moving at all, but now that he sees it, he realizes how incredibly stupid he was!
If what Li Ke said is true, then that thing was definitely intentional!
It deliberately pretended to be still, waiting for the two to approach, just like a hunter lying in ambush.
After seeing that Li Ke and Vander did not approach out of curiosity but left, it began to use its power to bewitch the two, but Li Ke and Vander were no longer human and therefore resisted the whispers.
And now, it's gone completely mad and has taken direct action!
Just as Li Ke and Vander were about to climb out of the abyss, the crimson tentacles suddenly stopped, then coalesced into an enormous blood sphere.
Several golden pupils appeared at the center of the blood sphere, which had a radius of several meters, staring intently at Li Ke's back.
"No, don't go! Give me your body, give it to me!"
With a piercing scream, the blood sphere shattered with a "crack," splattering blood onto the ground. Looking down, Li Ke saw the blood that had spilled into the underground ruins flowing towards one spot—was that the location of the temple?
The next moment, the temperature in the abyss suddenly rose. The smell of decay disappeared under the high temperature, but the stench of blood filled the air.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a giant red rat, skinless and with its flesh exposed and dripping with blood, appeared at the bottom of the abyss. A golden harp was embedded in its back, with several pupils on its body, facing Li Ke.
Give me your body!
"It is your honor to unite with the great Stelaratu, humankind!"
The blood-red rat spoke in a human voice, a hoarse, low female voice filled with lust for Li Ke's body.
Stelaratu had never seen a human like this before—his physical body was incredibly powerful, and he was even favored by the elementals of Runeterra. If he could obtain his body, he would surely become even stronger!
She will help the general ignite the Second Darkin War!
The great Aatrox will not fail, Xolaani will pay a heavy price!
The Darkin traitor, Ta'anari, will surely pay the price!
Lord Aatrox will also kill the Zoe to avenge all the Darkin!
Stelaratu trembled violently at the thought of those scenes. She didn't want to possess a rat's body; if she could, she would certainly prefer to occupy a human body, not a rat's.
After all, even if she uses light energy to replace the host after possession, her power will still be affected.
For the Darkin, frequently changing hosts weakens their own power.
Each replacement depletes the accumulated blood energy, which is why Stelaratu woke up early and has been luring creatures to her, using their blood to hone her blood magic. However, she is always waiting for a human body so that the reptiles, frogs, and rats that approached her and almost became her hosts would die in the vicinity.
But now, she can't wait any longer!
After all, even if it meant exhausting all his blood, as long as he could obtain this human body...
Then all the costs will be worthwhile!
Thinking of this, Stelaratu greedily stared at Li Ke's back. The blood-red rat roared, and flames spread around her body. She continued to expand and grow larger until finally, she transformed into a fire monster that was more than ten meters tall.
At the very center is Stelaratu's host—a rat.
All around her were bodies formed from flames and blood, one hand holding a flaming harp, the other reaching upwards.
"Why haven't they come out yet?"
Grandstone Mine, Jinx stamped her foot, feeling annoyed. Silco stood beside her, joining Vi in preventing her from rushing in.
Singed remained calm and composed, as if none of this concerned him.
The group had been waiting there for more than half an hour, but apart from the loud bang that came when Rick Vandel first entered, there was no other sound from the mine.
"No, should we send someone in to check?" Jinx said to Silco.
Silco shook his head and said, "If there are enemies that even Li Ke and Vander can't handle, then our going in will only cause them more trouble."
Jinx understood this, but understanding didn't equate to agreement. She whispered, "But we have to wait here."
"Boom!"
Before Jinx could finish speaking, a deafening explosion rocked the top of the Grandstone Mine. The hilltop suddenly burst open, and the blast caused dizziness and ringing in the ears of those near the Grandstone Mine. They covered their ears and opened their mouths, and the nearest the Sump enforcement officers were even blasted away by the shockwave.
Jinx covered her ears, cried out in pain, and looked up at the top of the Grandstone Mine. She saw flames spewing out, the red color sweeping across the sky. In the visible breeze, two figures soared into the sky.
"Li Ke, Vander!" Jinx recognized the two figures.
Li Ke's shirt was burned away by the flames, revealing his chest. Beside him, Vander's fur was also charred black, and one of his huge claws was broken off and was growing back.
A giant blue bird flew behind the two, granting Li Ke and Vander a brief ability to fly.
Li Ke didn't look at Jinx, but instead opened his mouth and roared with all his might:
"Everyone, evacuate immediately!"
As Li Ke's voice fell, a huge red monster emerged from the cave entrance, flames spreading and scorching the mine, while a giant hand, several meters long, reached out to grab Li Ke in mid-air.
Stelaratu wouldn't let this opportunity slip by; she was determined to obtain this body. Once she had it, she would destroy this place, and then she would go north to the icy harbor of Freljord, where her general resided.