Chapter 661: The Lake of Flesh and Blood
Chapter 661: The Lake of Flesh and Blood
"Lord Lindsey?"
After delivering the message, Levi turned back.
Seeing Lindsey's expression, he asked with concern, "Your expression... Could the enemy ambush ahead be extremely dangerous?"
Lindsey's expression was subtle, and his tone was hesitant, "The ones ahead of us might not be dangerous, and it's hard to say if there's an ambush or not."
Lindsey led the team forward.
He opened the map on the way, searching for hidden spaces according to the Sky Compass's prompts.
The situation was different from the previous hidden spaces.
To the northeast of the massive cavity, there was a not-so-small sunken basin, and the hidden space was marked within the basin, with no spatial tricks or entry puzzles.
"What is this time?"
In the stuffy and pitch-black underground tunnel, Lindsey's team advanced another kilometer or so, and only now did the diameter of the tunnel ahead begin to widen.
Lindsey walked at the forefront of the team.
He immediately spotted the vast underground cave under reconnaissance, along with several low-stage Deviators wandering nearby.
"Roar—"
A roar echoed.
The Deviators, upon noticing the commotion, stumbled towards them, attempting to attack and devour the living flesh and blood.
"Hmm—"
Lindsey didn't even need to lift a finger.
Levi, behind him, coldly hummed and activated his skill.
The rapid sound waves transformed into invisible blades, and upon contact with the enemies, they fell to the ground, instantly devoid of breath.
"..."
"This strength... too weak?"
Levi was a bit surprised, while Lindsey continued to lead the team.
The ground in the cave was flattened, and streets and buildings could be seen nearby.
The torches Lindsey's team carried illuminated the area, but the light was fragmented by the streets and buildings, as if cautiously moving through a city ravaged by plague.
"Sniff—"
Lindsey wrinkled his nose.
His keen senses detected a faint, bloody scent in the air.
The source of this scent was also in the northeast direction, where the hidden space was located.
At this moment, the vast Insectoid army was still marching through the desolate city. Levi, yearning for revenge, could no longer contain his expression and took the initiative to ask Lindsey:
"Lord Lindsey, this... doesn't seem right, does it?"
"Since entering this cave, we've only eliminated a few low-stage Deviators. We haven't encountered any formidable opponents."
"But this is their main camp!"
"Could it be... that they've set up some hidden trap or ambush here?"
Lindsey shook his head slightly:
"I haven't noticed anything either."
"The most likely situation now is that they fled upon learning of our arrival."
"..."
Levi was momentarily speechless.
He had been prepared to settle all grudges today.
But upon arriving, he heard that the enemy had fled.
He felt like a pedestrian running for shelter in a torrential downpour, only to have the sky suddenly clear up just as he reached the shelter.
Standing there, drenched, he felt a mix of anger, absurdity, and helpless melancholy.
"Levi, let the swarm disperse."
Lindsey patted Levi's shoulder and began giving orders.
As the army advanced, they still didn't encounter an ambush from the Deviators.
Thus, eliminating other possibilities, the final answer was that the Deviators had truly fled.
"There are still some low-level Deviators roaming the village. Go and take care of them one by one. I'll go check out the northeast direction, and you can join me later."
Levi immediately looked up, as if searching for some hope:
"North-east direction?"
Lindsey replied without hesitation:
"Take a good whiff, there's a faint scent of blood in the air, and it's coming from over there."
"..."
The human Awakened and the swarm began to clear the remaining Deviators in the city, while also investigating the city for anything the enemy might have left behind.
Lindsey, on the other hand, headed towards the north-eastern corner of the city alone.
That was also the location of the hidden space.
Lindsey walked through the underground, hollowed-out city streets by himself.
With his architectural knowledge, he analyzed that while the city's construction was haphazard, it still had a sense of design.
Since the Deviators had put effort into building this city.
Then, without an extraordinary reason, it was impossible for them to abandon it.
"Is our arrival really enough of a reason for them to abandon the city and flee?"
Lindsey continued to ponder as he moved forward.
A few minutes later.
In the north-eastern direction of the cave.
He stopped in his tracks, his face immediately contorting in disgust.
This was indeed a basin, but what the map didn't show was that this basin had been filled.
In the center of the underground depression, with a diameter of a hundred meters.
Blood-stained limbs and severed arms, mixed with Corrupting Venom, formed a pool of liquid, creating a terrifying scene akin to a painting of hell.
The faint scent of blood in the city also originated from here.
It was only because of the power of the Corrupting Venom that the scent of flesh was contained, preventing the entire cave from smelling as foul as one might imagine.
"What is this thing for?"
Lindsey struggled to understand the Deviators' intentions.
He didn't want to study this either, so he directly switched to the Puzzle Game module.
[Flesh Lake - When encountering difficult-to-infect targets, Deviators construct a flesh lake to decompose and assimilate the objects thrown into it, aiding in the propagation and enhancement of the Corrupting Venom.
Note: The life form providing energy for this flesh lake is near death, hence its abandonment.]
"Seal? Assimilation?"
Seeing these two words.
Lindsey had an idea when he looked at the hidden space on the map.
"Is there something the Deviators found difficult to dispose of, so they threw it here?"
"They specifically built such a large area, sacrificing the flesh they treated as a 'resource', just to slowly extract the power of their enemies to nurture the Corrupting Venom..."
Having understood the situation, Lindsey immediately called Levi over and gave him a task:
"Levi, bring the Wilted Tyrant Blossom seeds we prepared and drain this flesh lake dry!"
Levi obeyed and left to gather the seeds the troops had brought.
Meanwhile, Lindsey stayed where he was, looking at the flesh lake before him, naturally thinking of the description, 'the life form providing energy is near death.'
The Wilted Tyrant Blossom's absorption of the Corrupting Venom was swift.
But with such a large area of flesh lake, it would likely take several rounds of planting cycles. It would take about ten to fifteen days to drain it.
Lindsey didn't mind waiting that long.
But for the target in this hidden space...
"At a time like this, there's no need to hesitate!"
Lindsey walked to the edge of the blood-colored lake.
He equipped the Ancient Imprint, activated his Stone Skin, and then equipped the Nautilus from his accessory slot.
Then, he leaped forward.
With a 'plop', Lindsey's figure disappeared into the flesh lake.
(End of Chapter)
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