CHAPTER 478: CHAPTER 438: 2 GENTLEMEN AND 2 LADIES

Broken Star Sea, Nika Island Crystal Cave.

The main body of the cave is located three hundred meters underground, with its layered height also approaching three hundred meters.

Stretching horizontally to a depth of several kilometers, the terrain is complex and harsh, with gigantic glowing crystal columns everywhere. In many places, sharp white crystal clusters are so dense that there’s no place to step.

However, the gigantic crystals, which would be considered priceless by others, including the nearby mine with rich deposits of silver and lead, are completely ignored.

Only the water flowing through the cave, rich with countless germs, is the true treasure in the eyes of the cave’s owner!

Drip... Drip...

At the deepest part of the Crystal Cave, nearly a thousand meters underground, lies an active lava belt.

The surging heat can evaporate the cave’s moisture at any time, which then re-condenses into liquid in the cooler areas at the cave’s top and drips down slowly.

And who could have imagined that as this crystal mine gradually grew and formed, the water here has actually been circulating for a full five hundred thousand years.

It is precisely due to the existence of these water droplets that giant crystal columns, reaching lengths of ten meters and more, awe-inspiringly formed, creating a breeding ground for germs!

However, not all parts of the cave interior present extreme conditions.

On the upper tier of the layered Crystal Cave, in a well-ventilated stone cavern with little crystal cluster growth from the outside world, sits a stone desk, experimental equipment, well-treated shelves, cabinets, and a sample library.

This place has been specially protected with witchcraft to ensure that the air, filled with germs outside, doesn’t interact with it. Because even for the "Poison Plague School," the unpredictable contamination of various germs would be disastrous for experiments.

At this moment.

The "Mushroom People" stationed on Nika Island are making a fungal strain sample here, with raw materials including: fungal spores, sand, glass tubes, desiccants...

The objective is to ensure that the strain remains in a dormant state for a long period, neither dying, growing, nor contaminating, without reduced or lost excellent attributes, hence extending its usage time.

It is well known that these tiny microorganisms are too prone to genetic mutations.

Normally, the longest method of strain preservation is "freeze-drying" by mixing the bacterial solution with skim milk powder, freeze-drying it in a vacuum, and storing it in a -80℃ dry environment.

Different strains will also have the most suitable preservation methods for themselves, which vary widely.

But in this era where experimental medicine is just beginning, such conditions are far from reachable.

The "Poison Plague School" now generally uses the relatively simple "dry sand preservation method," which only needs to be stored below 4℃, but this method is not suitable for all strains.

So, although the task of preserving samples began upon the discovery of this place, the natural treasure trove in the crystal cave beneath the laboratory remains invaluable to them.

Rustle...

In front of the Mushroom People resembling a giant mushroom, various materials are grabbed as if by an invisible hand, automatically floating up, and within a few breaths, they are prepared into a sample that can be preserved for 18-20 years.

[Talent Magic: Power Touch]

After the Mushroom People were first in the school to complete self-transformation, each fungal cell became a neuron, each his brain, each his body.

This also granted him immense and unpredictable psychic power, through the spore cloud permeating the cave and the surrounding island, he could easily perceive everything in this space.

Suddenly.

The sample halted in the air, and a slight change appeared on the Mushroom People’s face, which had eyes and a mouth but no real function, reflecting the sudden wave in his heart.

"Someone is coming, not those three, nor the Crowman... entirely strangers!"

As if remembering something, the Mushroom People quickly turned around.

He approached a stone cabinet and, upon opening it, even that superficial face changed color instantly:

"The symbiotic strains of the ’Living Corpse’ and the ’Poisonous Wolf’ are already dead! Only the lone ’Insectoid’ is unharmed.

Who is it? Who on earth killed them while they were on a mission?!"

Although the expression on his face was simple, the extreme emotional fluctuation made golden spirit sparks flicker around him, causing glass containers on the experiment table to shatter into pieces.

Snap! Snap!...

The death of his companions wasn’t significant, but the resulting reduction in the school’s strength, failure of action plans, and delay in the establishment of the witchcraft system were unbearable.

After all, it was he who initially obtained knowledge from the Evil Alchemist and proposed establishing the "Poison Plague School." A third of a group of mature senior wizards who served as the backbone group was lost at once, greatly delaying his progression.

Even as a master of psychic power, the Mushroom People nearly lost control of his emotions.

Storing important samples and data from the laboratory into the "Magic Bag" hidden within him, he floated up under the influence of psychic power, and flew angrily towards the cave exit.

Whoosh—

And right then, the visitors he had just detected through [Spore Cloud Mind Sensing] had already arrived at the entrance of the Crystal Cave.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

Following behind a group of seagulls transformed into spirit bodies and immune to physical damage, four figures wearing bird-beak masks and dressed in leather jumped down the three-hundred-meter-long tunnel one after another.

This was not a group of "Crowmen," but rather Aiven’s team.

For Aiven, who possessed activated spiritual light and knowledge of magic potion, making these bird-beak masks posed no difficulty.

Using wood to shape the mask and embed crystal piece eyes, filling the bird-beak-shaped filter with charcoal and herbs for detoxification and sterilization, the final product was much better than those equipped by the Crowman Team.

With corresponding geographical knowledge in his head, Aiven understood that the biggest problem he would face might be the filthy, hot, and germ-laden air inside the crystal cave, and he had already prepared in advance.

Previously.

After finding this place called Nika Island on the nautical chart, Aiven dispatched seagulls for aerial reconnaissance at the first opportunity.

And at this time, he was quite thankful that he had made that Thunderbird into activated beast hide.

You know, back when the Silver War was fought to seize the Potosi Islands, the quasi-legendary battleship "Guard Commander" that came from the New Hilus Vice-Kingdom to support the Golden Sea took a long two months.

If he had been sailing the "Storm Horn" around the southernmost part of the New Continent, Froed Cape, following the coast of the continent little by little.

Although the time would definitely be shorter than the "Guard Commander," everything would have been too late, even if he got the original strain and rushed back, only to face a scene of corpses everywhere.

With a flying speed of 900 kilometers per hour, flying from the southern end of the Six Great Lakes to Nika Island on the western side of the Balboa Isthmus, it only took Aiven a mere six hours!

While Aiven was on the way, the seagulls in the high sky never stopped their surveillance over the island, easily finding the entrance to the crystal mine cave.

The sample of the [Super Cystic Fungus] that arrived in Aiven’s hands had already unknown how many generations it had been cultivated and gone through how many hosts, and Milan’s divination through them yielded nothing.

But now, combining previous information from those two "poisoners," they had determined that the original strain of [Cystic Fungus] was deep inside this crystal cave!

However.

Fearful of alerting, no seagulls were sent for close reconnaissance, so they did not discover the tracks of the remaining two people: Percy Lofiel and Haywood Clyde, among those who initially left the "Vesalian School."

However, from the "Living Corpse" and "Poisonous Wolf," Aiven realized that the information provided by Dr. Taylor was already too outdated.

Having integrated the knowledge from multiple schools into a unique witchcraft system centered on the "Introduction to Pathogens," further developments had been made.

Especially in the other party’s main combat ground, their strength should not be underestimated.

However, upon entering the crystal cave, before Aiven’s spirit-transformed seabirds completely dispersed to search for enemies and the original strain.

"Ha! Gentlemen and ladies, a total of four malicious guests, are you the ones who killed the ’Living Corpse’ and ’Poisonous Wolf’?"

Seemingly used the polite language typical of a gentleman toward this group of villainous guests, but clearly implied anger silently arose from the bottom of the four’s hearts.

Having lost human eyes, ears, and nose, the "Mushroom People" could see the essence of things more, regardless of whether they wore gas masks or not.

Moreover, judging from his unique sensory perspective, he assessed the essential powers possessed by Aiven’s team: Aiven was fierce and dominant, Milan ancient and mysterious, Olivia dazzling, and Apsuya wild and unruly.

The truth was also easy to deduce; shortly after the two members were killed, ill-intentioned guests appeared. He couldn’t believe there was no connection between these events.

He even knew this was highly likely the consequence of serving Lady Crow, yet he hadn’t anticipated their arrival so swiftly, as the second stage of the plan had barely just started.

The four turned around to see a mushroom, not much different from those outside, quietly standing behind their group.

Its white body topped with a brightly colored red and yellow cap, which visibly exuded poison!

In the instant they turned their heads, the giant mushroom had already launched its attack at the first opportunity.

Poof——

The moment its fleshy, thick cap expanded and contracted, a large cloud of red spores was ejected, immediately turning into a massive flame upon contact with the air.

[Witchcraft: Flame Spores]

The filthy air inside the crystal cave seemed like it was about to be completely burned away, even starting to melt the crystal surface with a melting point of 1700℃.

"Dodge!"

Unexpectedly, in this information warfare, their side was at a disadvantage.

The sudden attack forced the four who had just entered the cave to hastily scatter and dodge before they could even think through his words.

At the same time, another black-green poison cloud rapidly spread through the cavern.

[Witchcraft: Lethal Poison Cloud]

The battle had only just begun but immediately reached a climax stage.