Everyone Is A Lord: My Talent Is A Little Too Strong Chapter 2720: 1494: Dialogue and Doubts
Previously on Everyone Is A Lord: My Talent Is A Little Too Strong...
The sensation of weightlessness, so familiar, swept by once more. When Leo Ray's sight sharpened anew, he realized he had traversed the Teleportation Gate and stepped into a hugely expansive, moist cavern beneath the earth.
“Guiding Light!”
With Little Jie, appearing as a tiny elf, sending forth a line of glowing magic orbs, Leo Ray examined the surroundings more closely.
This spot matches Old Nick's description perfectly; the area stretches out immensely wide, so much so that even as Little Jie's string of orbs shot out hundreds of meters in a spreading arc, they failed to light up every corner, and the ceiling loomed impressively high, reaching at least four or five hundred meters.
“Could this truly be buried deep below ground?”
Leo Ray slightly squinted his eyes, tuning into the far-off rush of an underground stream as he gazed into the cavern's far reaches.
Under the glow from the magic orbs, a massive old city slowly unveiled just a hint of itself, like the peak of an iceberg, where weathered, speckled stone walls caught faint gleams from the lights, and shapes of structures blended amid shifting shadows all around.
“Sheila, have you detected any signs of ‘Corrosion’?”
Leo Ray steadied his thoughts and promptly asked the other stone spirit beside him, who took the shape of a small elf.
“My Lord, nothing yet.”
Sheila shut her eyes briefly before shaking her head: “No life signs here as well; it looks like no one's visited in ages.”
Upon hearing Sheila speak, Leo Ray gave a small nod.
She had a point; in the past, Old Nick and his group had come to this place, but the abrupt ‘Corrosion’ had swallowed them up soon after, with only Old Nick managing to flee.
In contrast to the enormous expanse here, any life force from Old Nick and his companions had faded away long ago.
As Leo Ray scanned the area, his allies Moli, Kara, and Old Nick, along with the key powerhouses, trailed behind; additional orbs of magic zipped out rapidly, quickly brightening the nearby space.
Despite that, beyond a few hundred meters, darkness still cloaked everything, hiding the cavern's boundaries from view.
“Keep watch over them.”
Leo Ray gave a nod to the squad of Tier 6 powerhouses, who at once positioned themselves to shield Kara and the rest at the team's center.
Leo Ray had included them for two main reasons: first, to safeguard Kara and the others while helping them grasp the ongoing events, and second, to have Old Nick guide them and pinpoint the ‘Corrosion’ site.
With the lineup of hundreds of powerhouses sorted, Leo Ray started advancing.
After merely a hundred meters or so, Old Nick's weathered features drained of color, as he shakily indicated a close-by underground stream: “Your Majesty, right there—that's where the ‘Corrosion’ emerged!”
“You've done well, sir.”
Leo Ray softly clapped the man's shoulder, gesturing for him to relax, before directing the mighty fighters ahead.
Up close, Leo Ray surveyed the scene; the waters moved softly here, transparent down to the bed, serving as the very origin of the streaming noise he'd caught earlier.
“My Lord, energy pulses from earth attribute magical ley lines are indeed present in this area.”
Crisis tucked away her wings, paused to feel it out, then inclined her head toward Leo Ray and added, “The nearest ley lines lie likely a few hundred meters along the river bottom.”
As the head of the Wood Fairy Clan and an Earth Element Grand Mage focused on City Building Art, she clearly possessed great attunement to matching attribute energy fluctuations.
“My Lord, I feel it as well.”
Fanny, another Earth Element Grand Mage, placed a hand over her heart in a bow and confirmed: “Moreover, remnants of an earth attribute magical ley line burst linger nearby, dating back about a year.”
“That lines up precisely with Old Nick and his group's arrival; it all fits.”
Leo Ray dipped his head faintly and asked next: “Is it possible to forecast the timing of the following burst?”
“My Lord, from what's observable now, no burst looms on the horizon, yet magical ley lines remain wildly unpredictable, preventing a precise estimate.”
Crisis shook her head in resignation as she replied, while Fanny mirrored her look, obviously in full agreement.
“Got it; nothing stirring for the moment, at least.”
Leo Ray let the matter drop and pressed on, steering the group toward the ancient ruins.
“My Lord, something troubles me; with no ‘Corrosion’ traces visible, where could they be now?”
Han Ershu, the Troll Clan Chief freshly bound by Leo Ray's [Contract Purple Crystal], bowed with hand to chest, his coarse blue features etched with uncertainty.
“It's straightforward. In the midst of a magical ley line burst, they travel freely to and from their den without harm from the event, suggesting they could have slipped back before it concluded.”
Moli answered calmly, her voice free of strain, almost offhand.
Her words then took on a sharper edge as she went on: “Alternatively, they could have exited the cavern bypassing any Teleportation Array and covertly entered Human Clan lands.”
“This isn't uncommon; ‘Corrosion’ sightings pop up now and then near where I grew up, though they're swiftly wiped out since God’s Stone works wonders against such odd beings. Even when they latch onto a host, the host's look alters dramatically, rendering them simple to spot.”
With Moli bringing this up, a heavier mood settled over the group.