Chapter 119: The Netherworld's reply

Magic teaching can be done after the battle ends. The most urgent thing is to solve the clay golem army besieging Iron Yacheng! As the dust of the explosion dissipated, the clay golems finally came to their senses, raised their sand-pot-sized fists one after another, and rushed toward the two undead at the entrance of the Mechanical Hall.

Even if the undead unit has more than 90% physical immunity, it can't stand the group beating of a group of clay golems full of hatred—

Attacks with killing intent can hurt the spirit body!

Not daring to have any delay, Miranda immediately started the next round of spellcasting.

The wind blade superimposed with "chemical elements" produced miraculous effects! He, who matched the "ignition" skill, under the "command" of Gulping Down the Chemical Pool, swept away a large area of rushing clay golems with lightning speed!

In Miranda's intuitive feeling, in terms of pure destructive power alone, the destructive power produced by the superposition of these two black iron-level spells even reached the bronze-level standard!

Precisely because of this, a stormy sea was set off in his heart, and his shocked chin almost fell to the ground.

Even the top-level magicians who were awarded the title of Archmage by the Royal Magic Academy almost couldn't produce the destructive power of bronze-level spells using only two black iron-level spells without rewriting the spell formula!

Wanting greater destructive power means using higher-level spells, which can be said to be common sense in the current academic world! In the Empire's Academy, there are indeed scholars who specialize in studying primary spells and delving into the combination of different spells to improve the maximum damage effect per unit of magic power.

For example, the most typical is injecting a small amount of fire element into the "earth thorn" magic, thereby making the tip of the earth thorn carry the toughness of metal.

For another example, injecting a small amount of fire element into the "water arrow" magic in a special chanting way, so that the water arrow explodes and produces steam to scald after contacting the target, etc.

These technologies are mainly applied in the Empire's spellcasting group. In the case where the vast majority of magic apprentices cannot break through their own bottlenecks, they try their best to improve their battlefield survival ability and individual combat power.

But even the research in these most cutting-edge fields, the improvement effect produced is only in the range of 10%~30%.

And the effect he sees now is more than 10%~30%, he believes it if it is 300%!! If this terrifying power is applied to the Empire's spellcasting group, the latter's combat power will rise by more than one level! If this research result is published in the public lecture of the Academy, the Emperor might personally seal him a Count! Of course, this is just a hypothesis.

Even if he becomes an undead, there is no meaning in becoming a Count, and he is not very interested in secular power.

From the "Magic Knowledge" of the Necropolis, he saw an unprecedented possibility! In this unprecedented possibility, future magicians will no longer be based solely on the strength of innate talent! Instead, like the Dwarven craftsmen under the inscription system, they will let personal knowledge play a greater role in it! For a scholar obsessed with transcendental mysteries, this is even more exciting than sealing him a King! "…Noisy wind, please listen to my call in the form of 'carbon monoxide'!"

With the help of extended chanting, Miranda began to try to pour the new combination elements into the bronze-level spell.

The surging magic power gradually materialized in the shape he was familiar with, and under the traction of spiritual power, gathered in his hands into a high-pressure cyclone.

"Gale roaring!"

With the moment the spell was chanted, the high-pressure cyclone blew forward like a dragon's breath.

It was still ignition magic! With the snap of his right hand, the sparks rushing forward instantly turned into the breath of a fire dragon, and dozens of clay golems were blown into fragments in the sky in an instant!

Too strong! In terms of pure destructive power, it might have the power of a steel-level "Explosive Flame Technique"!

Looking at the clay golem group blown crooked, Gulping Down the Chemical Pool shouted excitedly.

"Good job! Try RDX again!"

Miranda was stunned.

"What???"

Gulping Down the Chemical Pool only regretted that he didn't demonstrate the preparation of that thing in the experiment just now, waving his hands and feet and shouting.

"It's RDX!!! Something more awesome than black powder! Or yellow explosive is fine!"

"……?"

Miranda couldn't understand what he was shouting at all, and what jumped out of the translation crystal was just a string of gibberish.

There were too many technical terms, he could only pretend not to hear, and continued to cast spells according to his own rhythm.

The battle here is actually over.

Dozens of clay golems were wiped out by him alone, and the rest were either dead or injured! These "elemental spirits" seem not to be simple summons, but conscious creatures.

After finding that it was impossible to do, they decisively chose to retreat and fled toward the depths of the labyrinth.

Bond didn't pursue, just silently put away the great sword, and his dead eyes expressionlessly stared at the two undead at the entrance of the hall.

Especially the transparent one.

Just at this moment, a loud scream broke the silent battlefield.

"Oh oh oh!! Victory!!! Praise the Demon King! We won!!"

Zhuangzhuang, who didn't contribute at all, jumped out from somewhere, climbed onto Bond's shoulder with hands and feet, and shouted the cheers of victory with a voice louder than everyone else.

Hearing the chief's shout, the Mole-men who drilled into the garbage pile also drilled out one after another, running toward the corpses of the clay golems while cheering for victory, dismantling them into parts in three or two strokes, and moving them into the pushcarts that had been prepared long ago.

The clay dropped by these clay golems is quite "fertile"! It can be said to be the top-level fertilizer! It is full of various minerals and organic substances, and for moles, it can even be eaten directly. If not eaten, it is quite useful for planting some tuber plants.

The golem puppet's attack was repelled like this, and a group of life-profession players breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward Gulping Down the Chemical Pool.

"What was the situation just now?!"

"Was that gunpowder? Or dust explosion?"

"You definitely can't guess," Gulping Down the Chemical Pool said with dancing eyebrows, "I filled carbon monoxide into the wind blade!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Especially Zheng Fangxing, the number one competitor of the I Think Group, exclaimed directly.

"Damn! How was this done?!"

Listening to the fanatical exclamation, Gulping Down the Chemical Pool smiled inscrutably, but didn't answer.

"If you beg me, I'll tell you."

Zheng Fangxing: "@#%!"

Actually, this thing can't be called a secret.

Since the development team has already tested this system, Gulping Down the Chemical Pool dares to bet that it won't be long before someone discovers how awesome the freedom of this game is! But before that, he has to enjoy this "exclusive technology" for a while! Seeing that Gulping Down the Chemical Pool wouldn't say anything, everyone cast their eyes on the ghost beside him.

Speaking of which, this is the first time they have seen a ghost in the game! "Good guy, transparent!"

A player reached out and touched it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that his hand passed through him, while the player next to him showed a subtle expression.

"Then wouldn't it be able to—cough cough... I didn't say anything."

"Disgusting!!"

"Uh, you guys touching like this, I will feel very strange." Looking at the skeleton soldiers who kept touching him, Miranda had a clearly embarrassed expression on his face.

Seeming to realize that their behavior was a bit presumptuous, a group of little players immediately pulled their hands back in embarrassment.

Guys without boundaries are ultimately a minority, and most people are relatively normal.

A group of people turned to ask other questions.

"Are you a new NPC?"

"What's your name?"

The word NPC was translated directly into "Demon King's lackey" by the translation crystal in the current context.

Never expected that the Demon King's lackeys would see him like this, Miranda was flattered when he heard it, and a shy smile appeared on his face.

"I... was indeed saved by that lord, but he doesn't seem to like me very much."

About this matter, he is not sure, after all, he hasn't seen the Demon King since then.

Although there were several times he wanted to float over to express his gratitude, because of various things, when he thought about doing so, that lord was already gone.

After all, he is the Demon King, and he can't always stay on the fourth layer of the labyrinth.

Plus he is an introverted person, dragging and dragging, this matter was shelved.

"Indeed," Zheng Fangxing touched his chin and commented, "You don't have cat ears, I'm afraid it's hard to please the Demon King."

Miranda: "...?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense, you come with me!"

Seeing that the competitor was about to take away the NPC he picked up, Gulping Down the Chemical Pool hurriedly led him to the side, and didn't speak until he shook off the peers.

"In short, you mix with me first, and when I'm awesome, I'll introduce you to the Demon King."

Miranda was shocked when he heard it, and excited light burst out in his eyes.

"Really?! Can you introduce me to the Demon King?!"

Gulping Down the Chemical Pool puffed out his two rows of ribs and guaranteed.

"That must be possible! The Demon King is very familiar with me! My name was given by him! By the way, the method of injecting carbon monoxide into magic..."

Miranda said excitedly.

"I'll teach you now!"

The principle of injecting carbon monoxide into wind blades is not very difficult, at least for Miranda.

From the principle of spellcasting, so-called magic is the use of one's own spiritual power to materialize the "magic power" wandering in nature into specific "elements", and then fill them into specific "frames".

What Miranda did was just conceive an element called "carbon monoxide".

This element is composed of one oxygen element and one carbon element, and he has a basic concept of its characteristics after combination, such as being poisonous, such as being able to burn, etc... its principle is similar to the niche metal magic.

By the way, after understanding the concept of "iron" element, he found that iron blocks can be created out of thin air even without the combination of earth element and fire element. And not only does it consume less magic power, but the duration of the iron block's existence has become longer than before.

In short, the whole process is just a simple thing in Miranda's view, and he has no doubt that the people in the Necropolis want to do this must be easier than himself, after all, 118 elements are common sense to them.

However, what Miranda didn't expect was that although the skeleton soldier in front of him had a set of theories, he held his hand and held his breath for a long time without holding back a small wind.

If he hadn't seen what a black iron-level skeleton soldier looked like, he would have suspected whether this guy had transcendental power.

"Or... shall we try from the most basic meditation?" Miranda said in a tentative tone, "Maybe your spiritual power is too low."

"No... let's level up," Gulping Down the Chemical Pool took back his tired hand and cursed, "Damn, can't think about overtaking in a corner all day, still have to do something."

Miranda: "Level up?"

Gulping Down the Chemical Pool: "That is brushing monsters, brushing monsters can increase experience, increasing experience can improve level, which is improving transcendental power... don't you know?"

Miranda looked at him confusedly and shook his head.

"Never heard of it..."

Gulping Down the Chemical Pool looked at him with contempt.

"Tsk, you are still from the Academy, don't know anything when asked... what level are your professors, not as good as me to lecture!"

Miranda wanted to refute but couldn't find a reason to refute, so he could only lower his head in shame and say.

"What you said is..."

Gulping Down the Chemical Pool: "In short, that's it, you are responsible for pulling monsters and outputting in a while, I will support you in the back... By the way, try to leave the last blow to me."

Miranda nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay!"

A strange scene appeared outside Iron Yacheng.

A skeleton and a ghost wandered on the third layer of the labyrinth.

They used special magic, cooperated tacitly, and became the existence that made countless monsters hear the wind and be afraid.

Not only that, they occasionally huddled together to explore the techniques of physics, chemistry, and magic, and pondered how to make monotonous magic skills more flashy.

In the distance, a few small, hunched dark green monsters were hiding in the dark and peeking. Looking at the tacitly cooperating skeleton and ghost, their faces were full of surprise, and even horror.

Whispering voices passed between those ears that were too long...

"What kind of magic is that—"

"Too terrible!"

"Have to, have to hurry... report to the Great King!"

The fourth layer of the labyrinth, somewhere not far from the Dark Elf tribe, a steep mountain stood in the Mist Forest.

The whole mountain is like a huge stone pillar, connecting the ground dome of the Mist Forest.

There are many such load-bearing column-like structures in the Mist Forest, and there is even one every area.

Like those tower-like structures connecting the third and fourth layers of the labyrinth, these "mountains" also have passages that can return between layers inside, and the latter is far more spacious than the former.

Some players suggested installing elevators here to speed up the speed of returning between floors.

Luo Yan actually had this idea, but before practicing this idea, he had more important things to do.

For example, fulfilling the promise to the Dark Elf tribe—letting the forest regain its vitality.

And to do this, the crystals on the dome of the fourth layer of the labyrinth must be lit.

I saw that near the top of the mountain, there was a very small cave entrance and a platform ten meters square.

This is the highest point of the entire Mist Forest, within reach of the dome, and looking down, not only can you see the outline of the Gray Wind tribe, but even the outline of Mist Town can be faintly seen... if the fog here is not very thick.

At this moment, Luo Yan was following the leader of the Gray Wind tribe and his party, standing on that wide platform.

Looking out, everyone had a little surprise on their faces.

"Truly... incredible! This place is simply like another world." Looking at the forest under the dome, Arachdo's voice carried obvious envy.

The space and resources here are unimaginably rich for the Shadow Nest active on the first layer of the labyrinth! Heard that the resources on the lower layers of the labyrinth are even richer than here.

Don't know what kind of richness that is! Sarah also had a clearly surprised expression on her face, stretching her neck and looking out.

Although the richness here cannot be compared with the Silver Pine Forest on the surface, such a huge forest located underground is enough to surprise people.

"... This is the closest place to the dome, and also the brightest place on the fourth layer."

Following beside her father, Helen continued to the back of the Demon King with a gentle tone.

"Our clansmen will plant some herbs growing on the cliffs nearby. On one hand, they can avoid being eaten by monsters, and on the other hand, only the light here can keep them alive."

"Can't your natural magic make them grow?" Luo Yan turned to look at her and asked.

"Can't do it," Sherry, standing next to her sister, shook her head and answered preemptively, "Even natural magic cannot make plants grow continuously in an environment without sunlight. And those plants ripened by magic will wither soon without the support of magic power."

Helen nodded, agreeing with her sister's statement, and continued.

"Just like my sister said, magic cannot solve all problems."

"So that's it."

Luo Yan touched his chin and fell into deep thought.

At this time, the patriarch of the Gray Wind tribe, Tyrell, walked to his side and cast his gaze toward a cluster of crystals close at hand.

They are like mushrooms in rock crevices, growing on the dome of the fourth layer of the labyrinth.

"... The Mist Forest of the past was not much worse than the Silver Pine Forest, otherwise humans would not have thought of establishing an outpost near us. However, ever since Regi Dragon fell, these crystals have gone out, and now only a little turbid glimmer remains. We live in darkness most of the time and can only struggle to survive."

Tyrell's expression carried a trace of piety.

That is not piety to the Demon God or anyone, but to this forest.

Luo Yan could hear the longing in his heart and continued in a chatty tone.

"Very normal, these crystals themselves are maintained by the core of the labyrinth. It's better to say that it's a miracle that a little energy can remain now."

Tyrell looked at him and said in a solemn tone.

"Do you... really have a way to restore it to its original state?"

"Of course there is," Luo Yan drew a cake with a calm face, thinking seriously and saying, "It's just that I'm thinking... is there a more energy-saving alternative that can replace the original one."

Tyrell was slightly stunned and asked in confusion.

"Energy-saving?"

"Hmm," Luo Yan nodded and continued, "Simply put, it is to use less energy expenditure to maintain the lighting of the fourth layer of the labyrinth."

The energy structure of the entire labyrinth can be said to be very unreasonable.

Perhaps because of the lack of quantitative statistical means, perhaps because of the lack of management experience, the waste of faith power by the previous Demon King can be said to be extravagant to the point of being staggering.

After studying the design of the first four layers of the labyrinth, Luo Yan has gradually discovered the problem.

The entire labyrinth has a huge faith value deficit.

There are many reasons for this.

Perhaps in a certain period, surface humans happened to relax their faith and sold their souls to demons, causing the balance of faith power in the labyrinth to surge, so the Demon King began to build and build.

And just as the new facilities were built, surface humans consolidated their faith in Saint Xisi again, causing the increase in faith power in the labyrinth to suddenly plummet, expenditure was greater than income, so the labyrinth could not be maintained.

From this perspective, Regi Dragon's fanfare invasion of the surface cannot be completely considered a reckless move, at most it can only be considered a helpless choice.

After all, this huge spectacle alone relying on the faith power contributed by local monsters is simply not enough to maintain, and must rely on the input of external faith power.

This is like a typical export-oriented economy. When the "external market" shrinks, the final outcome is only two, either dying in silence or having a vigorous fight with the guys outside.

Regi Dragon is also a Demon King, and also a family with a face in the Netherworld, even for the sake of face, he must choose the latter to fight.

Even if he cannot expand the fear of surface humans for the Netherworld forces, he can consume the excess monsters, and dying on the battlefield sounds better than starving to death.

It's just that Regi Dragon probably didn't expect that his opponent was also a ruthless person, who didn't hesitate to stab him at the cost of his life, causing the entire Demon King army to collapse.

So the current situation was created.

Both the surface and the underground appeared in a vacuum of order, so it gave Chaos an opportunity to invade.

Luo Yan does not intend to follow Regi Dragon's old path.

Especially since he has a large group of players to support, every expenditure of faith power must be carefully calculated.

Thinking like this, he pondered and said.

"... If there is any way to convert sunlight into magic power, and then transmit it underground through Nether-runes, that would be great."

Heard that Dwarves have similar technology.

Even not just Dwarves, the Netherworld's Demon City also has it.

For example, the amethyst dome stolen from the Dwarves uses a certain fungal organism growing on obsidian to convert geothermal energy into magic power to maintain it.

The demons of the Demon City are very clear that although faith power can create miracles, it cannot solve all problems with miracles.

Tyrell looked at the Demon King in astonishment and said incredibly.

"Can this kind of thing... be done?"

"It's worth a try, if it really doesn't work, I'll solve it with faith power."

Speaking of this, Luo Yan paused for a moment and continued.

"In order to complete this project, I want to borrow a plant field expert from you... preferably a magician with rich monster knowledge and proficient in natural magic."

"Regarding this matter, I think Helen is the most suitable candidate," Tyrell looked at his eldest daughter, then looked at Luo Yan and said, "Her research on natural magic is even above mine, you can ask her any questions in the plant field."

Helen nodded slightly and said respectfully.

"Helen is happy to serve you."

Sherry pouted unhappily, seemingly unconvinced by her father's statement, but finally said nothing.

Luo Yan's face showed an approving smile, looking at the father and daughter and nodding.

"Very good! With your help, I think my grasp will be greater."

While speaking, he cast his gaze toward the crystals growing tenaciously on the dome.

At present, he already has an immature conception in his mind.

If he can imitate the Demon City to create a plant-based monster, draw magic power from nature and store it in these crystals, it is not just that the light source of the Mist Forest can be solved, but it can also produce huge magic power surplus to supply the first three layers of the labyrinth!

As for how to realize this conception, Luo Yan intends to teach Helen some biological concepts from Earth.

After all, magic is the embodiment of cognition.

If she can understand the mysteries of nature more deeply and understand complex concepts like "photosynthesis", maybe it can produce unexpected effects.

Regarding this matter, didn't a certain God of Machinery do it?

Applying the ideas of the programming field to inscriptions...

Just as Luo Yan was constantly perfecting the conception in his mind, Hearing You You's voice suddenly entered his ears.

"Demon King, your Iron Yacheng was attacked by a group of clay golems!"

Luo Yan immediately came back to his senses and asked with his mind.

"How many are there? Is it serious?"

Hearing You You: "The number is about fifty! This is undoubtedly an organized invasion... ah, but it doesn't seem to be a big problem? Your players called a ghost who can cast spells, and it waved its hand and blew those clay golems away! But it's so strange, that guy used magic that is a bit like mechanical magic? But not completely?"

Mechanical magic? Luo Yan showed a strange expression on his face.

He could guess the identity of that ghost, if there was no accident, it should be that coward named Miranda.

Since the end of the war, he had disappeared, never expected that he would appear in Iron Yacheng? After a while, Hearing You You's voice came from his ear again.

"Solved! Those clay golems started to retreat... Gee! They are really organized, right?!"

Golems without consciousness will not retreat!

"Looks like the ruler of the third layer is making trouble," Luo Yan narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "I think they are tired of living."

The work of checking the dome crystals is over.

The unfathomable Demon King already had an idea in his heart.

And looking at his confident expression, the Dark Elves of the Gray Wind tribe also ignited more hope for the future.

Luo Yan bid farewell to Tyrell and a group of high-level officials of the Gray Wind tribe, while Helen and Sherry remained as his bodyguards.

Just as he intended to go to Iron Yacheng to inspect the situation there, an unexpected piece of news temporarily changed his plan.

A reply from the Netherworld—

Finally arrived!

The schedule is completely hellish, sleeping four hours at night, three hours at noon, adding up to seven hours... feels like I haven't slept much, but just don't know where the time went. =. =(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 120 =====