Click

As we went deeper and deeper, the bloodstains on the ground became increasingly difficult to trace. This was actually a good thing, because it meant that the wounded had moved away from the intense fighting and had the time and energy to tend to their wounds, rather than being exhausted from the bloodshed.

This mine is indeed very large and deep. The dwarves' mining efficiency is commendable because they love their work. While human miners go on strike every few days demanding higher wages, the dwarves, holding bubbling wine glasses, go deep underground, laughing heartily as they carry tons of ore. The mine has a strong sense of life; dwarves' favorite decorations are hung in the mine tunnels, and we even found some scattered household items.

... Uh, Lusien stepped on a yellowed, sticky dwarf sock... Ugh... It's stuck to the sole of his foot.

Fortunately, the dwarf's corpse was still not found.

... Um, I carefully avoided the fabric in front of me—I'd rather see the dwarf's severed limbs than a pair of underwear that looked like it hadn't been washed in years.

This mission was absolutely terrifying!

Back in the day, in my second teacher's bunker, every tunnel was cleaned so thoroughly that not a single cobweb was left. Everyone's room was spotless. If an apprentice's blanket wasn't folded neatly enough and the teacher found out, that apprentice would almost certainly be turned into a cleaning skeleton.

The mess and the stench were unbearable! Thankfully, I could keep glancing at Mel to calm my anxiety. I desperately wanted to burn this place down; it was a conditioned reflex. I had to keep my eyes glued to Mel's face to control this urge.

Not many cyborgs died in large, fragmented pieces. Ms. Angela's methods were very much like those of a dark sorcerer, because her enemies were either torn to pieces or had their intestines ripped out. And I don't know how she did it; the wounds didn't look like those from firearms or swords. Instead... some looked like they were being torn apart by wild animals, and others looked like...

I couldn't help but frown; I discovered a withered human limb.

Yes, the severed limb was unrecognizable. From the bones, I could tell it was the left femur; the skin and flesh were shriveled, like the bark of an old tree, completely dry and cracked.

This is the kind of restricted effect that only some malevolent magic that drains life force could cause!

Therefore, I immediately became more vigilant. I couldn't determine what kind of magic had created this. The residual aura on it was rather strange, and I couldn't describe it for the time being. I didn't even dare to say that it was definitely caused by magic, because my understanding of technological advancements has always lagged behind the forefront. So I couldn't tell whether Ms. Angela had used some kind of advanced weapon, or whether there was another black sorcerer with unknown motives here.

I find it very puzzling. The dark mage's attack on the mine was pointless, wasn't it? And what dwarf wouldn't have exceptional magical talent enough to warrant being snatched from the sky and taken as an apprentice? Did he want a dwarf skeleton figurine?

But before I could warn them, Lusien had already stopped everyone, his sword pointing straight ahead, and then a figure emerged from the shadows.

--It turns out to be Ms. Angela, whom we've been searching for.

She looked to be in very good condition, with no visible injuries, unlike the weak and pale woman we had expected.

Lusien breathed a sigh of relief and sheathed his sword. However, Mel and I moved almost simultaneously, activating Shadow Dance around us. I would Absolute Protection everyone around us—except for Angela in front of me.

"What are you doing?" Lusien asked in surprise.

Before he could finish speaking, I had already launched over a dozen fireballs, and Angela vanished from her spot. She was as fast as a black gust of wind, and the force of her attack on Absolute Protection was so strong that I, who was maintaining the spell, had to take a half-step back. Mel's Shadow Dance immediately entangled her, but this woman was actually faster than a shadow, easily breaking free from the black shadow's entanglement. Mel raised an eyebrow, stretched out his hands, and an instantaneous Gravity Field immediately enveloped the entire mine.

I quickly cast a slowing spell, and Angela's movements finally became less tiring on the eyes.

The open space wasn't large to begin with. With a wave of my hand, two bright red walls of fire blocked our path from both sides. Angela stopped just before touching the walls. She turned around, her eyes flashing with a strange light I couldn't understand. Under my questioning gaze, Angela smiled. In the brief moment I was stunned, the dirt and bricks beneath our feet tumbled, and thick vines, covered in sharp thorns, sprouted out, writhing wildly and lashing at Absolute Protection with a crackling sound, making me frown repeatedly.

Because I've never really liked these wriggling, strip-like objects, they give me an irresistible physiological reaction—I feel like I'm under a hair removal spell, and all the hair on my body is about to fly off—but I've managed to control myself well and not be too impulsive anymore. I was once punished by being starved for a week for grabbing my notes and screaming as I swatted the teacher's newly caught pet snake, and since then I've basically stopped getting irritable because of it.

So I just let out a soft, uncontrolled cry, and the Air Shield exploded around me, blasting the twisted vines so hard that sap flowed everywhere.

I feel much better now.

Lusien stared in disbelief: "What the hell are you—"

"Draw your sword!" I said.

Mel was even more stern, almost shouting, "Fight!"

Lusien looked bewildered, standing there dumbfounded instead of helping, which immediately lowered our opinion of him. But then, Luolan tilted his head, his face practically screaming "question mark," Reynold... we ignored him.

A roar came from the darkness, the woman in black vanished, and a huge black wolf pounced on us. Accompanied by Reynold's very rude howl, we fought the black wolf—but after transforming into a beast, she could only use physical attacks. She shouldn't have chosen to transform into a beast, although she didn't stand a chance of winning with magic anyway.

I'm confident that a druid fighting a mage, especially one against two, would be a sure win unless she's Archdruid from some cult. Of course, a druid like her would only be expelled from her cult, let alone Archdruid.

The Gravity Ball slammed the giant wolf flat onto the ground, and the Air Shield followed. I almost laughed—because her face was squeezed so much it looked a bit like my assistant's husky from Keweite ... Mel and I attacked together, and the giant wolf's bones made a cracking sound as if they were about to break. She had to immediately transform into a dormice and dart out, then revert to human form and fall to the ground. My Hellfire was already poised to fire, but suddenly she shouted:

"Stop! Stop! Stop! We can't win! Give up!"

I... um...

Mel remained unmoved, but Lusien suddenly darted forward, blocking Angela's path and shouting, "Why are you fighting the moment you meet? Help her! Her Excellency Angela is going to get hurt!"

Mel could only frown and cancel the spell he was chanting.

"Be careful," I had to explain, "She's a druid."

In this complex and bizarre mine, we unexpectedly encountered a spellcaster even rarer than a mage—a druid.

She had Ms. Angela's face, but I wasn't sure if she was the real Angela, because I had only spoken to Ms. Angela on the phone. This highlighted the drawbacks of modern technology—I couldn't connect with and remember the mental energy of the person on the other end of the line while using a smartphone. Therefore, Ms. Angela was a complete stranger to me. Although I had heard her voice, I had heard from Moli and the others that free voice-changing software could be downloaded online, and there were countless spells in Transformation Spell or Illusion that could alter one's appearance. So, judging people by their appearance and voice was really unreliable.

Lusien paused slightly before replying, "Yes, I know. That's precisely why Lady Angela was able to operate that Crow mech so naturally and nimbly."

Why?

Mel and I stared at Lusien. I thought our positions might have reversed. In the past, it was always our conversation partners who looked puzzled by our thought processes. But this time, we were staring at Lusien as if we were seeing a herd of alpacas galloping across the vast grasslands.

"You know?" Mel exclaimed in astonishment, "You also know she's the Destroyer?"