Chapter 364: Chapter 356: The Successful Ones

The Empire was clearly planning something big in secret, and Lin Jun was quite eager to be part of it, hoping to fish in troubled waters and see if he could gain some unexpected benefits.

However, the Dwarf Kingdom was too far from his sphere of influence.

There was indeed an Underground City related to elemental creatures within the dwarven lands, but it was not connected to Lin Jun’s Underground City, making it beyond his reach.

Damn, having the intel but not being able to use it, so frustrating!

As for revealing the information to humans and having them warn the dwarves to disrupt the Empire’s plans… this idea was dismissed as soon as it crossed his mind.

Doing so would not only bring him no substantial benefits, but it would also foreseeably bring a heap of trouble.

Such a loss-making deal that benefits others, especially strangers, was never within his consideration.

Setting aside these considerations that could not be realized for now, the “takeout” Lin Jun was expecting finally arrived.

…

In the canopy of a large, unassuming carriage disguised for the trip, the Evil Mage Valen was eyeing the scenery outside.

He was not skilled at stealth, did not know the Disguise Skill, and even only spoke a few phrases of Human Language!

Fortunately, these technical problems had all been arranged by the Duke.

The convoy leader was a professional spy skilled in these ways, with a high-level Disguise Technique, complemented by a Secret Array hidden in the carriage that interfered with low-tier detection magic and tools, forming a protective umbrella for their group of more than ten people traversing human territory.

Of course, such a degree of disguise could not possibly pass the city inspections of a human city.

But fortunately, their destination this time was not any city, but a desolate no-man’s land, so there was no need to pass through those checkpoints.

On this journey, the biggest trouble did not come from human regular patrols, but from those bandits!

Their disguised identity was that of a survey team composed of scholars and students, which usually earned basic respect and cautious treatment from patrols, avoiding many unnecessary accidents.

But in the eyes of bandits, this team was nothing short of a juicy piece of meat.

Taking care of a few bandits was not difficult; the hard part was to thoroughly clean up the combat traces, ensuring no clues were left behind that could expose their Demon Race identity, which was far more tedious than the act of killing.

Fortunately, as the convoy delved deeper into human territory, this situation gradually improved.

Especially when large patches of white fungal mats began to appear in the surrounding environment, the traces of bandits almost vanished, making the path smoother.

According to the leader, this was partly because this area had achieved food abundance through mushroom farming, lacking the soil conducive to spawning large-scale bandits.

On the other hand, it was because a new adventurer profession called “Puki Master” was so efficient that it completely squeezed out the living space of traditional bandits.

Now in this region, there might still be some sporadic criminals acting on a whim, but they usually would not choose to attack such a large convoy.

Valen, who had seen a Puki Master, honestly did not understand how moving mushrooms could have any combat power.

Even if they were mutated, they were still just moving mushrooms!

Moreover, listening to the leader’s introduction, a question inevitably arose in Valen’s mind: why didn’t the Empire find a way to destroy these high-yield mushroom fields, plunging humans into a grain shortage crisis?

Could the purpose of their mission be exactly this?

But on second thought, if they really wanted to disrupt food production, there was no need to employ unstable factors like evil mages; high-tier alchemists under the Empire’s command could concoct more efficient, more stealthy poisons or withering potions, which would be more effective and harder to trace.

He threw this question to the leader, but unfortunately, the leader knew nothing either, just following orders.

The carriage finally stopped at a clearing in the forest. To reach deeper into their destination, they needed to traverse the dense forest, making it impossible for vehicles to pass, so the rest of the journey had to be on foot.

However, just as they were about to reach their destination, they were unexpectedly stopped by a human.

“Halt! You can’t go any further!”

It was a young-looking male human, equipped with leather armor, armed with weapons, and wearing a set of clothes clearly belonging to the Adventurer’s Guild.

However, the emblem on his chest was not the usual sword and shield, but a prominent mushroom cap insignia.

The spy leading the group stepped forward, wearing a scholar-like gentle and harmless smile, while showing a badge: “Hello. Are you from the ’Puki Master Professional Association’? We are a team of scholars from the Relic Association and need to go to the area ahead to conduct some necessary research.”

The young man scratched his head, eyed Valen and the others, noting their dusty yet scholarly attire, and his attitude became noticeably more respectful: “Uh… yes. The stone forest area ahead is currently unsafe, do you have a specific research to conduct there?”

“We hope to enter for close observation and recording to complete an important ecological study.” The leader’s voice remained gentle, but behind him, the hand hanging naturally had silently started to transform, gradually turning into a deadly claw shape, “Did the Guild issue a prohibition order? If we need to report or apply for a permit, we can wait here.”

The young man tried to recall the details of his assignment and shook his head: “There’s no clear prohibition… the Guild just asked us to remind and dissuade uninformed individuals from going deeper. Mainly, there’s a special puki inside releasing a faint petrification energy, which, though not strong, poses risks with prolonged exposure. You must also be cautious.”

Seeing the young man step aside, the leader’s claw quickly reverted back to a human hand.

After thanking the young man, the group continued on their way.

Not long after they continued forward, everyone witnessed a magical sight.

It wasn’t the petrified land and trees, but the petrified Puki here!

For instance, right in front of Valen was a Puki stone statue, standing on one short leg in a lone crane style, with the other short leg humorously lifted, and four fungal tendrils intricately woven into a heart shape atop its cap.

Such uniquely postured Puki stone statues were surprisingly abundant when one looked around.

“Who… did this?” One of the evil mages couldn’t help but murmur quietly, the sight was too bizarre.

Puki—

The passing sound of a Puki caught everyone’s attention.

The seemingly ordinary Puki was wandering through the Stone Forest, causing slight ripples on everyone’s magic shields, influenced by the petrification beam.

However, it was indeed quite weak; unless exposed to such an environment long-term, petrification would hardly occur.

Within this Stone Forest, aside from Puki, there were no stone statues of other animal-like demons.

But soon, Valen refocused on the task at hand.

They were divided into three groups, each entering a different underground chamber.

“Indeed, it’s divided by capability…” The low grumble of another evil mage in the same group reminded Valen.

He glanced around, only then realizing the grouping comprised of “newbies” like himself with Abyss Magic levels below LV3.

This realization sunk his heart instantly to the bottom.

This meant that the task assigned to them was apparently the most insignificant and least rewarding part of the entire ritual.

Even if the mission succeeded, returning to the Empire, this batch of low-tier evil mages might hardly receive due recognition and compensation…

“Damn it!” He cursed quietly, his heart filled with resentment.

Nonetheless, Valen and his teammates followed the instructions, completing the drawing and successfully activating the seemingly purposeless Abyss Magic Array within the chamber.

Until the array’s glow completely faded, they still had no idea what function the array served.

“Was it a failure?” Valen’s mood was increasingly anxious, an ominous premonition tangled in his mind.

When they left the chamber with anxious minds, led by the equally grim-looking leader, they discovered only their group emerged.

Indeed, it was a failure, and thus they were kicked out?

With a hint of pleading, Valen spoke, “Please… give us another chance! Let me check the array again, I can definitely find the problem!”

The leader cast a strange glance at him, paused for a moment before reacting to his misunderstanding, and explained brusquely, “No, it wasn’t your problem. Your setup was part of three interconnected arrays… I don’t quite comprehend the specifics, but evidently, a fatal mistake occurred in the other two groups… Would you care to ’observe’ them?”

Valen suddenly realized, his mind flashing back to his previous ritual failure, where six slaves exploded into a bloody mess within a chamber, his stomach churned, and he hastily shook his head like a rattle, firmly refusing the “goodwill.”

The group silently followed the leader, deliberately bypassing the area previously encountered with the young Puki Master, and returned to the hidden carriage.

And so, as though they accomplished something, yet like nothing was achieved, Valen embarked on the journey back to the Empire.

He and the few surviving low-tier evil mages in the carriage alike were anxious, utterly unsure of the fate awaiting them.

The complete annihilation of the other two groups once more proved the unreliability and high risk of the path of the evil mage, in brutal fashion, they, the lucky surviving “failures,” would likely be abandoned by those above, right?

For Valen, abandonment meant an inability to repay tremendous debts, meant those ruthless creditors would come calling, and then… he dared not think further.

However, unbeknownst to him, abandonment was not what awaited.

Upon return, he would receive the promised support of resources, to enhance his inadequate casting level.

Moreover, their success would spread throughout the circle of evil mages, and not long after, Duke Sigmund would issue a similar recruitment mandate for a second time…

…

[Seven Sins of Greed Triggered]

[Plunder Skill: Abyss Magic LV4]

Still too little, barely reaching LV4!

According to the inherited lexicon notes from Margas, to actively open that void leading to the Abyss, at least LV7 casting level was required.

He needed more and better evil mages to contribute their knowledge and experience!

However, even LV4 was sufficient to attempt some simple foundational applications, Lin Jun planned to personally experience the taste of this Abyss Magic.

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