Chapter 808: Task Begins, True Deadline

"How dare you? How dare you? You are setting yourself against all the families of Aozuobeien!"

A Matriarch of a minor family pointed angrily at Maluxisi; under normal circumstances, she would never have made such a gesture, but now she was surrounded by her allies!

"Everything is a gift from the Mother Goddess. The Day of Redemption is coming; I hope you all recognize the reality!"

Maluxisi did not pay attention to the accusations of her new companions, and she even lowered her head slightly to show apology, but because she was currently on the altar steps, this display was taken as arrogance by the Drow below.

"Maluxisi, do you really think a little Holy Power can control us? Too naive!"

This high-ranking Drow Mage was incomparably confident in her own strength. With a look to the left and right, several familiar Mages immediately reached a tacit understanding and, without prior consultation, performed Coordinated Casting, intending to take Maluxisi down first.

Yet, unexpectedly, just as the wills of the several Mages resonated, before they could even cast their spells, a dark Holy Fire erupted from within their bodies. In almost the span of a breath, it turned these Mages into fiercely burning dark torches.

Ah—ah—ah—

Several Mages ran and scurried about the plaza in agony, while the surrounding Drow dodged them, but compared to avoiding these human-shaped torches, they were more concerned about whether they would also meet such a fate.

Not until those human-shaped torches were completely burned out did any of the surrounding onlookers stand up to offer help.

"Maluxisi, what exactly do you want to do?"

In the end, the Speaker of the Executive Council of Ao Zu Bei En Cheng stood up and, representing all the families of Aozuobeien, issued a challenge to Maluxisi.

To this, Maluxisi took out the Oracle again and displayed it to her new companions, "Oracle: Counterattack the Surface, welcome the Redemption!"

"..."

Mad, truly mad, the Speaker muttered. In her view, the Drow had long since adapted to the environment of the Underdark, so why go to the Surface to find trouble!

Most importantly, once the war began, who knew how many clansmen would die during Sunlight Adaptation Training before even seeing the face of an enemy.

It was just that her opposition was ineffective!

Of course, looking at Maluxisi's firm gaze, the Speaker did not dare to oppose her either.

The other superiors of Aozuobeien were also silent one by one at this moment, seemingly wanting to use silence to resist.

But this kind of resistance was destined to be powerless. Soon, a Matriarch wearing priest robes stood up, "Merciful my God, the Day of Redemption has finally arrived; Glory to my God, the Redemption shall be completed!"

Traitor!

Many Matriarchs were cursing in their hearts, but it seemed those priests were never on their side to begin with. Once one stood up, all the Matriarchs who were previously priests stood up to support the Oracle.

After all, they were all priests. Although they had failed to build a good relationship with Maluxisi in advance, it was not too late now. Even if only for the sake of the Mother Goddess, Maluxisi should not make things too difficult for them.

With the priest Matriarchs taking the lead, the other Matriarchs saw that they had lost even the last shred of reliance on "strength in numbers," and they were still under the control of Holy Power. With the precedent of those human-shaped torches before them, what was there to resist?

And so, they offered their loyalty one after another!

"Very good!"

Although the process had some twists and turns, a satisfactory result was finally achieved. A smile bloomed completely on Maluxisi's face. She laughed loudly without any scruples, and among the Matriarchs below, not one dared to meet her gaze.

"Starting from tomorrow, Aozuobeien enters a state of readiness for war to welcome the arrival of the Day of Redemption! Now, I declare the Sangqi Family guilty of blaspheming the Oracle; their crime is punishable by death!"

The Sangqi Family? The Drow only then discovered that the Matriarch of the Sangqi Family had not risen from the ground, and searching left and right, they did not find her figure either.

They had clearly participated in the Sacrificial Ceremony together earlier, and now—

The Drow dared not think too much, though perhaps they could use the Sangqi Family to make up for the losses their own families might suffer in the upcoming War of Redemption!

As the entire Aozuobeien unified its front and entered a state of readiness for war, Xia Duo also clearly felt the abnormality in the atmosphere.

The training intensity at the Training Ground had increased significantly. A Drow warrior in training was beaten to death by an instructor simply because he complained in a low voice.

This had never happened before. After all, the proportion of those who could pass the Sunlight Adaptation Training was not high, and everyone had paid a huge cost; the death of one was a huge loss.

But now, it seemed something was urging them on!

In the courtyard, Xia Duo also felt some subtle changes. The most obvious was Maluxisi's attitude, which seemed to have become much more aggressive, and the number of times her gentle side appeared became fewer and fewer.

However, even when she was cold, she could not resist having Xia Duo whip her, which had almost become the only reason for Maluxisi to come find him.

This day, just as Xia Duo returned to his courtyard residence from the library, Maluxisi came looking for him again. Just when Xia Duo thought it was another whipping session, Maluxisi brought him long-awaited news:

"The Scout mission starts the day after tomorrow. The mission for other Drow is to find a weak point in the ley lines or cut off 100 Elf ears, but you, as the Father-Servant of the Kelaorui Family, I want you to complete double!"

Xia Duo naturally agreed readily; he could not wait to head to the Surface!

Having been in the Underdark for so long, he had long since had enough. With Maluxisi's Magic Mark on his body, there was no possibility of moving freely underground.

Only by heading to the Surface could he temporarily escape her control.

As for the Magic Mark on his body, he already had some clues; he would try to break it as soon as he reached the Surface.

"Your weapons and equipment will be sent over tomorrow. You only have one day to familiarize yourself with them! I hope you can return safely!"

Speaking to the end, Maluxisi rarely revealed a trace of gentleness.

Xia Duo only responded with silence.

Two days later.

Xia Duo and the other scouts were blindfolded and teleported to the entrance of an unfamiliar passage. Afterward, they went through many twists and turns, walking a long distance, before finally receiving the order to remove their blindfolds.

A female instructor pointed to the passage slanting upward in front and said, "This is the passage to the Surface. Move forward! I hope you can all complete the mission and return!"

Xia Duo was silent and did not make a sound. In fact, except for the female instructor who had just spoken, there was not a single sound here; the team was suppressing feelings of anger and unwillingness.

Even Xia Duo was no exception.

Just now at the Training Ground, every scout heading to the Surface had been subjected to the effect of 【Task Deadline】 by several high-ranking Mages through Ritual Magic.

If they could not complete the mission and return within one year, they would automatically die.

At the same time, this Ritual Magic also carried a suicide effect, similar to using a Magic Scroll, except that here, the body became a kind of alternative Magic Scroll; as long as the will triggered it, the body would automatically die.

As for whether there were other effects, even Xia Duo, an Arcanist of the Main Plane, could not see anything more.

In short, just honestly complete the mission and return, and one could survive, plus there would be a large reward.

Otherwise, it would be best to just commit suicide; it might even be more comfortable.