A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 136 The Shadow of Mahabray

"Chahara, what do you think?"

Looking at 87's departing figure in the distance, Jiang Shuzhou asked.

"My lord, I think we should intensify our search and shift our main search location to the cave."

From the shadows nearby, Chahara's figure gradually came into view; she had been hiding in the laboratory.

"Good, let's do it that way."

"Inform the mission lobby that the rewards for all missions investigating caves in heavily contaminated areas will be doubled."

With a generous reward, there will surely be brave men. Jiang Shuzhou believed that given the players' willingness to risk their lives for money, someone would definitely be able to complete the task.

Once the Abyss Cult is located, Jiang Shuzhou will personally lead his troops to strike immediately, determined to seize the cube no matter what.

As for contamination and portals?

We'll talk about that later; neither Jiang Shuzhou nor Rosemary is in a hurry.

In these kinds of situations, whoever is more hasty will suffer.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Have you heard?"

"The mission rewards have been doubled!"

"Do you think I'd dare to go?"

"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, we can just die and come back with the intelligence."

Such remarks continued to circulate among the players.

Wealth is a powerful motivator, and such a high reward is enough to make players fearless of death.

"What are we waiting for? Let's just do it!"

"Even after eight hours of death, you're still a hero!"

So, a large group of players stormed into the heavily polluted area, but unfortunately, they didn't have 87's stealth ability.

They were quickly sent out by the demons.

"Teacher 87, how did you manage to go in and out of the heavily polluted area three times?"

Someone asked this question.

"Of course! It's thanks to my excellent combat skills and stealth abilities. Let me tell you, that demon was just a door away from me back then..."

"Don't listen to his nonsense! He was able to go to the heavily polluted area entirely because of me!"

"If it weren't for me..."

However, 87 completely ignored the Talkative Pistol and continued to boast about himself, just like the Talkative Pistol.

Thus, the stories heard at 87 and Talkative Pistol were completely different versions.

In version 87, he dragged this useless pistol and fought his way through the heavily contaminated area, eventually breaking free after a bloody battle.

In the version featuring the talkative pistol, the 87, with its abilities, charged in and out of the demon horde seven times, but almost got caught by the demons because it was too reckless.

If it hadn't stepped up at the crucial moment and shot the devil's dog head off, 87 would have been dead long ago.

"Which one is real?"

"Mine! I'm a strategy guide author, would I lie to you?"

"Bullshit! What I'm saying is the truth! What lies could a weapon like me tell?"

Soon, the two were arguing fiercely, neither willing to back down.

"Teacher 87 is at it again."

Those standing nearby seemed to take it all in stride.

"He does this every time."

"Brother, from what you're saying, it sounds like you know them pretty well?"

"I'm his teammate."

"Which of their statements is true?"

"None of them are correct; he's just bragging."

"..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside the cave, a humanoid demon stood.

He seemed to be in a relatively normal mental state.

"Griffiths, my ally, a new portal is in the planning stages."

"Kenster, this is really, really great."

Tentacles made of flesh and blood extended from behind Griffith, intertwining with each other to form a pair of writhing wings.

Griffith's former handsome and dashing appearance is gone, replaced by a mere shell.

That was Griffith's own face.

What lies beneath his face remains unknown, but it certainly isn't anything good.

"Hehehe, it's perfect, Griffith, a perfect creation."

Kenster began to act erratically towards Griffith, appearing at first glance like someone with a mental illness.

But it's not out of the question, since those who believe in the abyss are indeed mentally ill.

The chaos of the Abyss's will will corrupt the souls of these believers, making them confused and insane, perhaps even unaware of their own intentions.

Especially after the Abyss invaded the Prime Material Plane, Kenster, who originally had some intelligence and knew to take advantage of the Empire's political turmoil, has now become completely irrational.

"Die! I will not tolerate any being more perfect than myself in the abyss!"

Just a moment ago they were completely infatuated, but now they've turned on you completely.

All I can say is that this is the abyss.

Griffiths and Kenster then engaged in a fierce battle, fighting to a standstill.

"Whom should we help?"

"We'll help whoever wins."

"Damn it, I can't take this anymore, attack them all!"

"Hehehe, okay, me too!"

Immediately afterwards, the cultists also joined the battle. They fought on both sides, and even on their own people, which can be said to have brought the chaos of the demons to its extreme.

Soon, the chaos attracted the attention of other demons.

Why didn't you call me during the chaos?

So they all joined the fray.

"I am the victor!"

Finally, after a long and chaotic battle, Griffiths successfully killed all the enemies who dared to challenge him.

At the same time, his body became more contorted, indicating that he had been exposed to more pollution.

Strangely, however, he still retained his logical abilities.

"The Abyss Cube, where did that old bastard hide him?"

Griffith rummaged through the pile of corpses, and finally, after tearing apart countless bodies, a cube fell out.

"Guts, hehehe, come find me, and I will grant you ascension!"

"Go! Go find Guts!"

Unfortunately, there was no one around.

"Nobody agreed?"

"It's okay, I can go by myself, no, I can have him come to me."

Immediately afterward, Griffith held the Abyss Cube in his hand, and the corpses of the former mercenary group members in the pile of bodies began to move.

"Let's go, as usual! Go find Gus and get my adjutant back!"

Holding the Abyss Cube, Griffith let out a series of strange cries.

It seems his rationality has run out.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the other side, the mountain fortress.

"Has the demon gone mad?"

Looking at the densely packed demons in the distance

Jiang Shuzhou couldn't help but sigh.

No one knows what these demons were thinking. They were doing fine one day, but suddenly they all banded together and attacked the mountain fortress without any warning.

"We cannot comprehend the thoughts of demons, and of course, neither can you, an evil mage!"

Joan of Arc responded from the side.

Dude, I'm really speechless. All you did was give me evidence that your adjutant had committed crimes and abducted a woman.

Is it a good thing that you're being asked to rectify the atmosphere?

Even Zhuge Liang could shed tears when he executed Ma Su, so why can't you learn from him?

"I also cannot understand your advanced military management philosophy."

Jiang Shuzhou, of course, didn't stand on ceremony.

"Alright, you two, let's discuss what to do."

Rosemary is playing the good guy again.

"It's simple, just defend where we're stationed."

"I'll guard the east section, and you guard the middle section while that woman guards the west section."

"Ha, you'd better not ask me for help."

That's as if you'd come to my rescue if I asked you for help.