Lolth's Priest

As the old dwarf Tiger had guessed, the "lucky one" Dishana Jadiel, chosen by the Matriarch Council, was in an extremely depressed mood.

The journey from the complex and filthy sewers of Gershon City to Zelandia was by no means a pleasant one. Just the blood splattered on her from slaughtering goblins along the way made her feel so nauseous she wanted to vomit.

Fortunately, after leaving the labyrinthine underground tunnels and entering Zelandia's territory, there was a slow-moving dark river available for bathing.

Although Drow generally had little shame about being exposed, as a priestess of the Spider Queen, she still had a few subordinates use their removed silk robes to form a curtain, shrouding her graceful figure so that even if someone accidentally glimpsed her, they wouldn't see clearly.

Behind the curtain, Dishana forcibly suppressed the frantic thoughts that were driving her mad. She lit two incense sticks mixed with Abyssal Fish Brain Matter and Fish Oil. As faint, slightly fishy-sweet white smoke drifted out, she offered the Divine Emblem of the Spider Queen, which depicted a half-spider, within it.

Abyssal Fish naturally possessed psionic abilities comparable to Mind Flayers. When their brain matter was mixed with fish oil and burned as incense, long-term use not only sharpened the mind but also induced a sense of blissful relaxation, as if one had returned to the Goddess's side. Thus, it had been very popular among Lolth Cult priestesses for the past few centuries.

Then, Dishana took out a serpent whip, nearly three feet long, from her satchel. While whipping her bare body, leaving behind striking bloodstains, she gritted her teeth and bit her lower lip, praying to the Goddess's Divine Emblem:

"Spider Goddess, Mistress of the Underdark, Weaver of Schemes and Misfortune, Dishana wishes you to unleash hatred and fear upon the world, to bestow thorns and suffering upon me, to strip away hesitation and weakness from myself. I shall become the agent of your will, spreading suffering and disaster. I implore you, my Goddess Lolth, I implore you, my Goddess Lolth."

Feeling the divine power within her, though meager, it brought a sense of immense strength. Only then did Dishana seem to find a sliver of security and belonging. Strength and composure returned to her face, making her unrecognizable from the woman who had seemed on the verge of collapsing under the pressure moments before.

She reached out and lifted the curtain, saying to the few Drow subordinates shamelessly frolicking naked in the river, "Get ready, we're departing. Don't forget why we came to this filthy mine."

The tallest and strongest female Guard Captain, without even bothering to wipe the water from her skin, walked ashore and draped a gauze robe over herself. She said, "Dishana, we all understand that coming to investigate the so-called magic fluctuation at this time is a bullshit mission. Anyone possessing that level of arcane power, even if we all went together, would be futile. Why don't we just set up camp here, wait a few days quietly, and then concoct a perfunctory excuse to report it? With your status in the Jadiel Family, your sisters will likely not be able to fault you on this matter."

Dishana looked at her Guard Captain as if she were an idiot. "What's the difference between wasting time like this and wasting life? Moreover, this time they're holding me accountable for privately transferring troops on the battlefield. Even if I can hide for a while, can I hide forever?"

Seeing the Guard Captain lower her head and fall silent, Dishana sighed and continued, "Jiaer, you don't need to worry too much. You must know that our mission here is only to investigate, not necessarily to fight that existence to the death. Everything has two sides. Since our situation in Gershon City can't get any worse, perhaps coming to this desolate land might be an opportunity. Instead of worrying about that person's danger, we should be more vigilant about the schemes of my good sisters behind my back. I believe that since they have been secretly enduring and preparing for decades, and have finally seized this opportunity, they will certainly not miss it."

"As long as you have your own plan, that's good." Seeing her master regain her usual composure, the Guard Captain named Jiaer breathed a sigh of relief.

Dishana's retinue, including the Guard Captain, numbered only four. It wasn't that she was overconfident and didn't bring more troops, but rather that almost all her subordinates had perished in the previous skirmish. To save her life and preserve her last few confidants, she had no choice but to flee that death trap, risking violating the hold the line order!

A true death trap! Not because of the brainless Psionic Slaves in Iron Melting Fortress, but because of a large number of mutated creatures that had suddenly appeared recently!

Mad! Savage! Devouring everything! Fearless of death!

They seemed to have appeared out of nowhere from the depths of the earth, even severely affecting the situation between their Gershon City and Iron Melting Fortress.

According to the conclusions reached by the upper Matriarch Council, this large-scale mutation seemed related to the minor earthquake a few days ago. Therefore, the situation between Gershon City and Iron Melting Fortress had returned to a stalemate, with more High-Tier Professionals being dispatched to the depths of the earth to investigate the source of this mutation.

If the true cause could not be ascertained, and before judging whether its scale would continue to expand, it was likely that the high-ranking officials on both sides wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Some Drow even suspected that some Demon Lord had opened a huge passage in the depths of the Underdark, allowing a sliver of the Abyssal Will to escape, causing the surrounding native creatures to become mutated and turn into mad, chaotic, all-devouring monsters.

Such situations were not uncommon in the history of Coriel, but whenever they occurred, they invariably caused terrible disasters, leaving devastation for thousands of miles in their wake.

If this speculation proved true, it would no longer be a demon sleeping beside their bed, but rather both sides building their nests on a volcano. If the Abyss couldn't hold back one day and let out a fart, their entire families would neatly spiral into heaven.

Of course, this was just the worst-case scenario. After all, according to some scholars who had dissected and studied those mutated monsters, no Abyssal Corruption had been found. Instead, it seemed like they had been infected by some unknown virus.

However, none of this mattered to Dishana at the moment. If the sky fell, the tall ones would bear the brunt. She currently only wanted to complete her mission successfully and, if possible, take this opportunity to replenish her greatly weakened strength.

"They say this place they've self-proclaimed as Zelandia is ruled by a Duergar named Tiger, and Duergar are generally decent fighters. Plus, there are many Former Professionals who fled here as Fugitive Slaves. If we could unite this force..."

Dishana, harboring this seemingly beautiful vision, arrived in the Zelandia marketplace. At this hour, almost all the Miners had gone to the West Mining Area to dig for riches, leaving behind only the old, weak, and infirm, along with Duergar busy transporting Components.

Dishana glanced at her compatriots, clad in revealing attire and leaning against doorways, bored. She shamelessly averted her gaze and set her sights on a nearby Duergar.

This was a common trait among Drow Elves; rather than trust their own compatriots with their devious minds, they preferred to believe outsiders.

With a "let's give it a try" attitude, she took out a Drow Silver Coin and offered it to the Duergar, asking directly, "Excuse me, do you know what that Magic Fluctuation was about four days ago?"

The Duergar she addressed sized up the Drow priestess before him, hesitating, his gaze flickering.

Dishan smiled and offered another silver coin. The Duergar accepted the bribe, scratching his head and saying with an honest and simple expression, "Oh, that? Everyone in Zelandia knows. Our Guild Leader and the Hogg Mining Boss jointly developed a Steam Bomb. That fluctuation was probably from its explosion."

Upon hearing this, Dishana almost vomited blood. She had wasted two Drow Silver Coins for news that was common knowledge throughout Zelandia.

However, she didn't know that if she asked all the remaining Duergar at this time, she would only get this standard answer, jointly instructed by Old Tiger and Li Wei.

Only by questioning the Drow living in the Red Light District might she uncover the buried truth.

Drow culture, at times, was truly dramatic and ironic.

First update, then revise. Thanks to student [xiaotang246] for the hundred coin reward.