Chapter 10: Underdark

Ten days later, in front of the ruined High Tower.

The mottled tree shadows rustled faintly in the breeze, a faint scent of blood lingered in the air, and the sharp‑toothed, clawed, hulking monsters gathered before the High Tower, silent as corpses, only their chests rising and falling with the moonlight showing they were alive.

In front of Naimi Xisi stood a full sixty Hyena Werewolves and a gigantic Ouger, three of the Hyena Werewolves being Barbarian Soldiers controlled by the Jackal Demon Ring like Tie Xiu. Behind him were another hundred unconverted Coyote Wolves! Juan Ce Long did not lack desire to gather more Coyote Wolves, but his Mind Power had already reached its limit.

Having controlled sixty Hyena Werewolves plus a hundred Coyote Wolves, he received a warning from his mind; with his current spiritual power he could not command any more servants.

In fact, according to the mind's calculation, his spiritual power could at most, via the Mind Gem, control a hundred Hyena Werewolves; if the Coyote Wolves were not mindless brutes, the control cost would be far lower than for Hyena Werewolves, and now he was already overloaded.

The power of the Mind Gem is not infinite; Naimi Xisi's spiritual power is intertwined with it, and only when he reaches a new growth stage or breaks through the Mage profession rank can he command more beings.

"If the targets are Spellcasters, I fear I would overload after controlling at most five Four‑Level Professions," Naimi Xisi calculated silently in his mind.

Spellcasters differ from ordinary professions; they focus on the advancement of the void realm of spirit, and some Spellcasters called Psychic Adepts are masters of the spiritual world.

Such beings are more than ten times harder to control than ordinary Warriors, and in terms of cost‑effectiveness, Melee Combatants are the best choice for control.

Of course, there are exceptions; a steadfast will can also boost spiritual progress. Among Melee Combatants there is a special profession called Martial Monk, whose spiritual will is exceptionally resilient, making them even harder to control than Spellcasters.

"It's time."

Naimi Xisi signaled to Tie Xiu nearby; he nodded, and led all the Hyena Werewolves into the High Tower in batches.

On the first floor of the High Tower, a massive void lay at the center of the floor, and an ancient stone staircase spiraled downward endlessly, its destination unknown in the darkness.

Naimi Xisi had stayed here for five years and never discovered that this underground held such a secret passage; if the diary had not recorded that a Candlestick on the highest level of the High Tower was the switch to open the passage, this place would have remained forever sealed in ruin.

Naimi Xisi left three Hyena Werewolves to close the passage after he entered, then scatter and flee, returning every month to reopen the passage.

First, to prevent a Green Dragon passing by the High Tower from noticing a huge hole and out of curiosity entering. Second, this also ensures the passage's proper opening and closing.

The Hyena Werewolves streamed in, and Naimi Xisi flapped his wings toward the depths of the black void. — "Is this the Underdark?"

Deep in the darkness lay a vast cavern, without sky or sun; the mysterious starlight praised by poets never shines on this land, and the warm, life‑giving sunlight cannot enter. This is the Underdark, the secret world beneath the surface, disturbed by the forgotten realm.

In the dark Underdark, where sky should be, there is blood‑less, tear‑less hard rock; after hundreds of millions of years of snowwater freezing into solid ice, clay and organic matter settled over time to form extensive stone pillars and stalactites overhead in the cavern.

Fortunately, in this dark Underdark many places are covered with various bioluminescent cold‑light fungal plants, these tiny, unassuming lives continuously use their brief lifespans to illuminate the underground world.

Of course, this is limited to the Upper Dark Region and a small part of the Middle Dark Region.

The Underdark is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower layers. The deeper one goes, the fewer traces of intelligent life and the rarer the presence of light. The vast majority of Underdark creatures inhabit the Upper and Middle layers; only those ancient, forgotten terrifying monsters still dwell in the deepest world. Naimi Xisi's current location is the Upper Dark Region, 750 meters below the surface.

A Red‑Robed Mage once stationed here built a temporary outpost beneath the Mage Tower, but that dilapidated cabin, after centuries of erosion, had long become ruins.

Naimi Xisi looked toward the southwest, where a trench stretching hundreds of miles lay—a massive rock collapse caused by a great surface earthquake centuries ago in the Yinbu Tu Kingdom. According to the diary, this Earth Trench is extremely wide, severing the connection between the base of the Mage Tower and the opposite side of the trench.

A few hundred meters to the northeast lies the Cold Iron Vein, as well as two cave passages leading farther away.

That Red‑Robed Mage had once set a permanent magical seal here, blocking the northeastern cave passage and locking the Cold Iron Vein and the territory beneath the Magic Tower together here.

This is why Naimi Xisi left three Hyena Werewolves to open the passage periodically; if the seal functions well, the many Hyena Werewolves he brings could otherwise starve to death trapped here.

To prevent that, returning to the surface once a month to hunt can adequately supply the Hyena Werewolves' food consumption.

Although these Hyena Werewolves are fully controlled by his Mind Power and will not rebel for lack of meat, Naimi Xisi still must ensure their basic food supply.

"Tie Xiu," Juan Ce Long ordered. "Take twenty Hyena Werewolves and a Barbarian Soldier with me to the vein."

"Boss, boss, I want to go too!" Peng Peng protested nearby, unwilling to let that sycophant hog all the credit.

The Ouger Ogel, watching the oddly eager Hu Meng, mimicked with his simple mind: "Ogel, go~"

Naimi Xisi had long read Hu Meng's thoughts; he lifted his dragon claw and flicked Peng Peng onto the ground with his nail: "You guard the Hyena Werewolves here for me, and don't cause me any trouble."

He then turned back to the Ouger, hesitated; although, in theory, the magical seal should make the vein safe, the Underdark contains myriad hidden cave passages linking places, and after so long it was uncertain whether any monsters might have taken up residence.

Thus he also agreed to Ogel's joining.

A massive group arrived before the vein, and not far from it were two deep cave passages whose destinations were unknown.

Naimi Xisi frowned at the vein before him; according to the diary, the Red‑Robed Mage's passage should have been small, yet the vein now displayed a massive opening at least five meters wide.

"Something's off; someone must have been here."

Juan Ce Long leapt and shifted his stance, arriving before the two cave passages, and indeed found something amiss.

The magical seal here had vanished!

(End of Chapter)