Chapter 235: Amel Again?

Tally's speed was even faster than Rod had imagined.

This was under the condition that she was carrying someone; it seemed the Shadow Arts had indeed improved greatly.

By the time they reached the door of the room emitting green light, the people inside had just reacted and were dispatching several elite fifth and sixth-rank soldiers to the main hall outside.

The small soldiers were panicked and at a loss upon seeing two seventh-rankers in the distance.

They almost screamed "Oh my!"

But rats are highly socialized creatures that simultaneously regard the commands of high-ranking rats as gospel; they charged ahead despite their trepidation.

Rod and the other two hid in a corner.

Shadow Arts that even seventh-rankers could not detect were naturally invisible to these little things.

But he was not in a hurry to act.

Friends who often play the coward know that after spotting someone, do not rush to fight, nor strike the first one.

Be a coward until the end, simply going around from the opposite side of the house.

Tally received the instruction and nodded.

She manipulated the shadows to move into the room emitting green light.

The room was not large; a massive follicle occupied most of it.

The follicle was translucent, filled with glowing green liquid bubbling vigorously with a gurgling sound.

Heaven knows what was inside.

Two people stood before the follicle.

One was a rat-man draped in a gray robe, holding a white ceramic staff in his hand, the end of which bore a green gemstone reduced to only a quarter of its original size.

His aura was quite wretched and desolate, as if he were on his deathbed.

Yet one could still see that this rat-man had once possessed the strength of a high seventh-rank or even peak expert.

The other was the black-robed man who claimed to be the Plague Doctor Amel.

His mana accumulation appeared to be at the early seventh-rank stage, but it was not pure, showing a significant difference from the Amel whom Rod and the others had slain.

The quality of mana is difficult to fake; indeed, they were not the same person.

The gray-robed rat-man turned to look at the battle in the hall outside the room, frowned deeply, and slowly spoke.

It was actually the voice of a kind old woman:

"Mr. Amel, please."

This Amel remained motionless: "Lady Lady Ruike, you might as well resolve the intruders within your territory first; my Plague Creation must take place in a relatively quiet environment."

"Do not worry about them."

The rat-man Lady Ruike tapped her staff lightly, stirring up a small patch of dust on the ground.

Boom—

In the next moment, a thick and large rusted iron door was pushed out from the wall on each side of the room's entrance.

They slammed shut with a bang.

Immediately, all the noise, screams, and slaughter in the hall were covered up.

Only the gurgling bubbling sound from within the massive follicle remained.

"Mr. Amel, please."

Lady Ruike spoke again.

"Wait, did I not order you to find the vines and leaves on the Tree Spirit? The one in the Wind Wall Forest; where are the items?"

"I have already said that there are too many experts in that forest; recently, the forest ranger there beheaded two seventh-rankers. Do you want my descendants to go to their deaths?"

As she spoke, she remembered that the ghoul and the banshee in that forest had previously attacked her rat-man subordinates.

She mentally added them to her list of targets for certain death.

"Why don't you go yourself?"

"If I leave this place, who will maintain the device?"

Amel was instantly left speechless.

The rat-man Lady Ruike seemed to notice his unease.

"Mr. Amel previously stated he would assist me in perfecting and optimizing the Creation Arts; you do not tell me you are not yet prepared?"

Her words already carried a hint of threat.

At this moment, that Amel was overwhelmed by her momentum and instinctively stepped back, further revealing his guilt.

"I, I will tell you the truth, just don't kill me!"

Seeing that deception would not work, 'Amel' decisively admitted defeat.

He lifted his hood, revealing a face covered in red sores.

"I am not the true Amel; my name is Mickey, and I am Amel's disciple."

Lady Ruike's rat face twitched.

The claw holding the ceramic staff trembled slightly.

Mickey continued speaking: "Teacher Amel knew that after you took him away, you would not easily release him. Teacher has his own experimental project to conduct and cannot stay underground for long, so he let me impersonate him and come to the underground to cooperate."

"Then how did you construct the assisting formation the previous time?"

"Teacher Amel's research on souls is unmatched by anyone; he possesses a spell for temporary possession. At that time, he borrowed my body."

"Now!! Immediately!! Make the true Amel appear!!!"

Lady Ruike could no longer endure and roared immediately.

If not for the need for this person's assistance, she would have slain him on the spot!

Mickey wore a mournful expression.

"No! I can't do it! I've been unable to contact my teacher since a month ago! He might already be dead!!"

Lady Lady Ruike's face darkened to the extreme.

Fine, fine, fine—played for a fool by two human mages.

She slowly raised her staff, pointing it at Mickey.

"I have no use for a useless mage."

"No! Lady Lady Ruike! Give me a chance. I have my teacher's notes, I can still learn! I can definitely perfect the new ratfolk creation spell!"

The light of magical power flickered.

In the shadows, Rod and Tally exchanged a glance.

Once this ratfolk killed Mickey, they would make their move.

This Mickey was at least a seventh-tier, so if he could fight back, that would naturally be best.

Let the two of them fight like the snipe and the clam, so Rod could reap the spoils like the fisherman.

However, the next moment—

An unexpected, calm voice rang out, freezing him in place.

"There is no need, Lady Lady Ruike."

The ratfolk Lady Lady Ruike and the mage Mickey were both stunned.

Mickey was surprised because the voice was identical to his teacher Amel's, and dumbfounded because the voice was coming from his own throat.

Lady Lady Ruike lowered her staff, narrowing her eyes.

The Mickey before her—the left half of his face was covered in red sores, his expression panicked; the right half was calm and sinister, smooth and unblemished.

It was unmistakably half of Amel's face!

"Amel, what kind of disgusting spell is this? It's my first time seeing it."

"Just a small ether ability, don't mind it."

Mickey, both afraid and overjoyed: "T-teacher?! Where did you go?! I've been unable to contact you this whole time!"

"Mickey, your teacher is most likely already dead. What is speaking with you now is merely a cluster of memory."

"A cluster of memory?"

"Yes, a small cluster of memory, lodged within your brain, borrowing your cranial nerves to operate. But it cannot cast spells, nor can it add new memories. It is a rather useless cluster of memory."

Cold sweat broke out on Mickey; the corner of his eye twitched.

"Once we return to the surface, I'll immediately prepare a 【Clone Art】 for you, teacher!"

"There's no need."

"Ah?"

"Because you yourself are my clone copy."

A shadow slid past unnaturally.

A massive 【Scythe-Claw Reversed Blade】 hacked into the thin magical shield, which burst with a puff, the blade's momentum undiminished, slicing straight across Mickey's neck.

His head instantly shot skyward.

A tall figure grabbed the head midair, crushing it with a single hand.

Almost simultaneously, a mass of pink-purple vengeful fire surged from his palm, completely engulfing Mickey's entire body.

Crackle—

Rod landed.

He stared darkly at the ratfolk Lady Lady Ruike.

Behind him, the pink-purple vengeful fire swiftly incinerated the mage's frail flesh into a wisp of ash.

(End of this chapter)