Chapter 1298: Convergence
Michael watched everything from afar with an analytical view.
How did these Magical Monsters get so powerful underground? And how were the demi-humans able to tame them?
From what he knew and from the reports given, the demi-humans were also having trouble dealing with the magical monsters just a few days ago.
But now, they were suddenly taming them? And not just the juvenile ones who only had the strength of a Body Formation cultivator. But they had fully captured an entire horde of adult monsters that had the power of Nascent Spirit cultivators!
Of course, when comparing them to Nascent Spirit cultivators, Michael was only comparing their brute strength and defense.
True Nascent Spirit cultivators still had the upper hand. They had the Nascent Armor and the Nascent Influence. Meanwhile, these creatures only had brute strength to help them fight. So, in a fight, a cultivator should always win against a magical monster.
However, what made them truly dangerous was their sheer numbers. There were twenty of them here. And this was already enough to deal with Levi’s entire army composed of more than 50,000 well-trained soldiers.
Narito. Sasuki.
Michael summoned both of his Chief Shadows Orcs.
"BU TO TO!"
"RAH TA TA!"
They kneeled in front of him. "Do you guys think you can infiltrate those demi-humans?"
The two Shadow Orcs turned to look at the giant lizards, their eyes narrowing once they realized the kind of power that these creatures held.
"These magical monsters are powerful, but they are not smart," said Narito. "If we are sneaky about it, we can easily send our shadows to infiltrate their kingdom."
"The demi-humans purely rely on those magical monsters. They won’t expect a shadow to be implemented in their tamed monsters."
Michael nodded.
"We’ll have to do it ourselves," said Sasuki. "Our Elite Penumbras will not be enough for this caliber of mission."
In order to minimize risks and dangers, the two Orc Chieftains decided to fulfill the mission themselves, if Michael chose to deploy them.
"Stand by for now," he said. "I’ll first see if I can use my Mini Drones to infiltrate their kingdom."
He didn’t want to risk his Orc Chieftains for this.
So, he looked back towards the confrontation between the demi-humans and Levi’s army.
It was a stalemate, until the Red Mankeys began to retreat back into the lava lake in the middle of the open cavern.
The lizards slowly slithered backwards, but kept their eyes on the human soldiers in front of them.
They descended into the lava as if it was mere water. The monsters’ skin didn’t burn as they were engulfed in lava. Even the Red Mankeys riding on their backs were kept safe from the broiling heat of the molten magma.
Eventually, they disappeared into the depths of the lava, with only a few bubbles showing on the surface.
"Don’t pursue them. The tunnels underneath this lava lake are still unexplored. They could easily lead us to ruin."
Michael was of the same opinion. Plunging into the lava was easy, especially for a Nascent Spirit cultivator such as him. But it was navigating through the tunnels underneath the lava bed that was hard.
No doubt, the demi-humans had traps set in place.
Levi would have to find a way to get into the demi-human kingdom some other way.
Michael was going to send his own Mini Drone to follow after them, but it seemed that the Shadow Orcs had gotten ahead of him with that.
"BU TO TO! We have deployed ourselves," said Narito in his head.
"RAH TA TA! We have attached ourselves into the shadows of these creatures. They have no clue about our existence. It won’t be long before we find a way into their kingdom."
The two Shadow Orc Chieftains had gone ahead and deployed themselves even when he said not to!
He had completely underestimated Narito and Sasuki’s desire for a mission.
The two had been stuck in an office for months now, after all. They must have been itching to find a mission that would get them active and moving. And now, they had found the perfect opportunity.
Perhaps, this mission would be the one that they’d been waiting for that would allow them to advance.
Anyway, Michael didn’t worry about them. Those two were trained by Fudge himself. He’d be more worried about the demi-humans rather than them.
He put his attention back onto the cavern. Levi had ordered his men to retreat. They seemed to have found a place for them to settle down and make camp for the next few days, at the very least.
Michael could tell that Levi was still planning on going through the lava lake. He had sent some scouts to start exploring it, after all.
Perhaps after a few days, he’d be venturing to the depths to search the demi-human kingdom.
Michael also ordered his men to find a place to settle down. They chose an open space a few kilometers away from everyone else to make sure that they still had privacy.
And a few hours later, newcomers began to appear one by one.
First, it was just a group of adventurers. They seemed to be attracted to the opportunity. If Levi Vanderbilt was interested in this, then there was definitely a treasure here to be found.
Then, soon after that, the Goldstones appeared. Theresa was nowhere to be found, but her army was here. All 30,000 of them.
They set up camp near the Vanderbilts.
...
...
...
It didn’t take long before hostilities between the two to start. Skirmishes once again erupted between the Goldstones and the Vanderbilts.
The Chasm had a few places where vegetation grew, which was important for resources and supplies. So, it was important for the armies to take control of them.
And the two armies made sure to either steal or keep these vegetation places to themselves.
Inevitably, this led to some adventurer parties getting tired.
"Those conglomerates! They aren’t leaving anything for us!"
"You’re right. But what can we do? We’re just shrimps out here, hoping that the sharks give us the scraps."
"Hey... did you guys hear about a rumor? About an oasis?"