radicalducati Page 448
Page 448
If the small head could really think.
Latis shook his head, clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and then activated the power of the Dream Nail, swinging his sword forward.
Ding!
A dazzling brilliance pierced the veil between reality and dreams. Within the light, which was almost identical to the past, a certain ethereal power seemed to have appeared faintly. This subtle perception flashed through Latis's mind, and then an overlapping voice resounded in everyone's hearts.
"A path leading astray!"
The voice, both real and ethereal, echoed slowly before gradually fading away. Latis put away the Dream Nail and muttered:
"The Path of the Lost? It doesn't sound like a monster-infested area; it sounds more like some kind of labyrinth..."
However, he couldn't guess the specifics at the moment, so he had to wait until he got there to observe.
"The path of the lost... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before." Holnet murmured to himself, arms crossed, as he followed Latis toward the stag beetle.
"It seems to be related to the deep underground..."
"Ah, teacher, it's that one."
Geeta touched the helmet with her name engraved on it, lifted her mask, and said, "The murals I saw in the Minotaur's territory had very complex maps. It seems that the place between the shallow and deep underground is called the Lost Path."
"Is that so... The minotaur's memory for terrain is quite impressive, it's a strange talent..."
Holnett pondered for a moment, then looked at Latis and said:
"Captain, it seems we'll have to head straight for the deep underground."
"It was expected. If Radiance was really sent back to the underground by the goddess, then it would be reasonable for it to go back to the deep underground to recuperate."
Latis nodded, led his teammates to the stag beetle, and said:
“Stag Beetle, here we come. This time our destination is the Lost Path.”
After finishing the last bite of grass, the stag beetle stood up straight, its face displaying a thoughtful expression in a very human way.
"What's wrong?" Latis scratched his head upon seeing this; it was the first time he had ever seen the stag beetle look like this.
"Hmm."
For some reason, the stag beetle started shaking its head.
Latis pondered for a moment, then tentatively used "Language Proficiency," but the stag beetle still made a "humming" sound.
"Could it be..." He suddenly had a flash of inspiration, glanced at the Void Ray that was hanging on Snyder's back pretending to be a schoolbag and slacking off, and stroked his chin.
According to Lady Roseti of the Night Elf race, this Void Ray has never seen any of its kind, so there is no language to translate it. If the Stag Beetle is in the same situation, it is very likely that it will also be unable to translate the corresponding words.
However... he seems to have a better idea now.
Latis gripped the Dream Nail, and seeing the stag beetle looking at him curiously, he smiled and asked:
"This is a divine artifact of the Moth Tribe. You must have heard of it before, right?"
"Hmm." The stag beetle nodded.
"That makes things easier." Latis breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"I'm going to use it to enter your dream now and see why you can't go to the lost path. Try dreaming about the area in a bit, and I'll see what the problem is."
"Hmm~ Hmph." The stag beetle suddenly realized and raised its head, then closed its eyes and immediately began to snore.
"...Too fast, bro."
Latis couldn't help but mutter a complaint, then composed himself and unleashed the power of "Lord of the Divine Kingdom" with a swing of his sword.
……
A moment later, Latis broke free from the dream, sheathed his sword, stood there in contemplation for a while, and then spoke to the stag beetle and his teammates who had gathered around him:
"Is such that……"
In the dream, Latis discovered that the stag beetle's path was blocked by a huge rock in the tunnel. In front of the rock was a large hole leading downwards, and he didn't know where it led.
If Latis is not mistaken, the path behind that boulder is probably the lost way. If the downward hole can be used to get around to the back of the boulder and push it down, the stag beetle should still be able to pass through the path ahead.
Unfortunately, the stag beetle never went down into that big hole, and even though Latis used the "Harem Invitation" ability to create a downward staircase, he couldn't find any real clues.
After Latis finished explaining his theory, seeing the stag beetle nodding vigorously, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled:
"If that's the case, then take us to the front of that big hole, and we'll see if we can clear that boulder again."
Upon hearing this, the stag beetle showed a very expectant expression. It immediately lowered its body, and after all of Latis's team were seated, it instantly took off running into the burrow.
The bright sunlight over the mossy land quickly faded behind them. Latis glanced back one last time at the bend, at the spot so close to the ground, before turning his gaze away and disappearing back into the darkness with the stag beetle.
Goodbye, Moss Tribe.
……
……
After turning left and right countless times in the darkness, Latis sensed that the surrounding environment was getting darker and darker. At the same time, the previously dissipated will of light reappeared, rushing past the outside of the tunnel in the form of underground turbulence.
Just in case, the group set up a shelter, covering themselves and their seats to prevent turbulence in the tunnel from blowing them away.
After a long while, the stag beetle finally stopped. Latis poked his head out of the sanctuary, and seeing that there was no turbulence around, he called out to those behind him:
"Here we are!"
He skillfully carried Snyder off the vehicle, packed up the shelter, and, using Snyder's divine light, looked around.
All around was just like the stag beetle's dream, a wide tunnel, and through a hole in the ground, one could see that the tunnel on the other side was blocked by huge rocks.
He thought for a moment and, instead of risking a collapse by using magic rashly, he jumped to the other side, clung to the boulder, and tried punching it a few times.
However, it is still difficult to exert force in this posture. Since the lower body is not on the ground, the force of the fist can only create a few small dents.
Latis jumped back to his original position, pondered for a moment, and it seemed that he still had to go down into the burrow to try to flank them.
However, whether it was because the blows he had just made had attracted some monster or for some other reason, Latis suddenly heard a strange complaining sound coming from the bottom of the hole.
"Bug, put me down!"
"My back is about to break, you piece of shit!"
"Damn it... hooaaaaah!"
……
Latis was silent for a few seconds, then borrowed Jennifer's light and squatted down at the edge of the hole, looking down with a bewildered expression.
Deep within the cave, a strange bone helmet could be vaguely seen struggling erratically inside the mouthparts of a peculiar, large demon fly.
Seemingly due to being exposed to the light, the monster inside the bone helmet suddenly shouted angrily:
"You voyeur! The great Zote is fighting the Vengeful Lord of the Flies! Get out of my way!"
Chapter 435 Zuo Te can be a hammer
"What the hell……"
Latis and his teammates exchanged bewildered glances as the mysterious creature, who called himself Zot and wore a bone helmet, was being carried around by demonic flies, completely unsure of what was going on.
"...Is this a battle?" Jennifer couldn't help but mutter under her breath, then heard Zote's angry roar from below:
"How dare you question the great Zote! You bunch of—uh—put me down—insignificant fools! Watch me… my back, my back… I'll take this guy down right now!"
"..."
Latis's lips twitched. He remained silent for a moment, rubbed his temples with a headache, and then turned to his teammates and said:
"In that case, let Zote fight on his own. Let's look for a road down there."
"...Hehehe, you cowardly weaklings! Just look at Lord Zote... Awooo! Watch how Lord Zote fights!"
Another shout, accompanied by strange curses, came from below. Latis couldn't help but stroke his chin, suddenly realizing that the guy down there was probably just spouting nonsense.
He glanced at the stag beetle that was already sitting on the ground, thought for a moment, and then told it to "wait for us here." He then walked to the edge of the burrow and prepared to jump down.
“Captain, I’ll go down first.” Holnet stopped Latis and said, “I have a better sense of the Dark Zone, so I can react faster if any monsters attack.”
"also."
Latis looked at the short spear that Holnet took out of his cloak and said:
"If there are any problems, call me immediately."
"Okay Captain."
Holnet and Latis exchanged a glance, and she seemed to see an undeniable sense of security in his eyes. She couldn't help but smile slightly, then suddenly flung out her short spear, which plunged directly into the ground at her feet. She then nodded to the crowd, grabbed the long rope attached to the spear, and slowly descended from the cave entrance.
Amidst Zot's muffled groans, as if he were being tossed around like a toy by a magic fly, Latis rubbed his ears, observing Holnet hidden in the darkness with his "darksight," while covering his mouth and complaining to his teammates:
"Don't you guys think it's...so noisy..."
“Indeed.” Jennifer couldn’t help but cover her ears, frowning as she muttered, “That guy’s been fighting for way too long. It’s just a magic fly monster; he could have just killed it with one sword strike…”
"You guys! What do you know... what do you know... um! Uh, ah! This is called, this is called... an exhilarating battle!"
The rhythmic groans sounded like some kind of drumbeat. Latis listened intently to the defiant curses and said with a tight smile:
"It doesn't feel right... I hope it won't affect Holnet."
"Don't worry, the teacher is very capable."
Geeta lifted her mask, squatted down at the edge of the cave, glanced down, and then said:
"Even if all your weapons are used up or temporarily unusable, you can use monsters as weapons, so don't worry."
"Using monsters as weapons...?" Latis was stunned. The image of Holnet swinging goblins and other monsters around like a windmill flashed through his mind, and he was immediately shocked.
“Yes.” Geeta nodded vigorously and said:
"So even if you're surrounded by monsters, you're perfectly capable of handling that situation."
……
Zote's muffled groan echoed beside him. Holnet gripped the rope tightly, suspended in the air. He closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before opening them and nodding to himself.
Although the unknown creature below was making a lot of noise, it also made it easier for her to judge the terrain around her by the echoes.
The light Jennifer and the others cast overhead only slightly illuminated the surroundings before being diminished by the uneven pits and craters on the cave walls.
Fortunately, Holnett had already figured it out. Although there were occasional entrances around, those passageways were only three or four meters deep at most and were not real roads. Therefore, the echoes from Zote's continuous grumbling did not overlap too many times.