Mage Legend
Chapter 84 - 22 episodes Escape_2

Chapter 84: 22 episodes Escape_2

"If only I had another Oily Technique," Lynch sighed softly.

Nimo heard this and quickly took out a bottle from his backpack, tossing it in front of the illusion. A puddle of yellow liquid spread out. The dwarf turned his head and said painfully, "There won’t be any oil left for cooking these days, so please bear with it for now."

"Who cares if there’s no oil! We’ll slaughter a snake and extract snake oil to cook with! It must be delicious, haha!" Deluo’s laughter came from the front.

The passage continued to extend downward. Lynch took out the unextinguishable torch to light the way for his companions ahead. They hadn’t gone far when they heard screams and curses coming from behind. The mage smiled slightly, thinking, "Now you’ll suffer."

They exited the mucus-filled passage, and an open space appeared before them. In front of their eyes was an enormous underground cavern, with several people standing on a small platform. A simple ladder allowed them to climb down.

This was a large lava cavern, with more than ten molten rivers slowly flowing over the scorched blackened land. The boiling magma bubbled continuously, turning the entire hall red with the flowing lava, accompanied by the black background, creating an eerie and terrifying atmosphere. The air above the lava was heated by the high temperature, rising in waves, causing everything seen through it to appear blurred. The stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling were brightly lit by the light from below, looking like flaming stone spears, ready to pierce any creature daring to pass below.

Only a few solitary stone bridges spanned across the molten rivers. Following these bridges, another passage awaited on the other end of the cavern.

"Let’s go!" Lynch waved a hand, urging the two to follow. "Wet the headscarves with water and cover your mouth and nose, or else the hot air here will scorch your respiratory system."

The three of them ran across these stone bridges. The relentless snake-men had already emerged from the cave entrance, chasing persistently along the path behind them. Lynch could now clearly hear the snake-men’s shouts, as well as the sound of crossbow strings being wound. But he dared not stop now. Although mages were powerful beings, facing a swarm of enemies, unless they had a way to change the situation to ignore most attacks, even the mightiest mage could only end up being torn apart.

If he could return to his former state, Lynch could easily deal with these snake-men.

But for now, they could only choose to flee.

The snake-men were much faster than the fleeing trio. They could use their chests and abdomens to move serpent-like as they ran. The distance between the two groups kept narrowing, and soon Lynch was within the firing range of the enemy’s crossbow bolts.

Lynch turned and cast an illusion technique over the stone bridge he just crossed. However, this time, the illusion looked exactly like the original stone bridge, making it indistinguishable by appearance. Several crossbow arrows whizzed past his ears, thudding deeply into the stone floor.

Seeing the mage stop, Nimo also turned and began shooting at the snake-men. Although outnumbered, Nimo’s rapid-fire crossbow maintained a high firing rate, matching the enemy in terms of crossbow arrow exchanges. Deluo stood in front of the mage, using his two-handed sword to deflect arrows that might threaten his companions.

"Lynch, use whatever tricks you have left! We can’t hold on much longer like this!" Deluo shouted while swinging his weapon hard, calling out to Lynch, who was still preparing a spell. With his naturally strong dragon power, Deluo swung his heavy two-handed sword as nimbly as an elf with a thin sword.

"Lightning Spear!" Lynch unleashed his last lightning-type spell. Seeing several snake-men about to crawl onto the illusion-covered bridge, he threw the thunder spear with great force.

The lightning spear, with a whooshing sound, shot towards the leading figure. The snake-man let out a single cry before being pierced through. Although they were completely immune to electrical energy, their skin offered no resistance to such powerful piercing force.

Then, the lightning spear exploded like Lynch’s other lightning spells, ripping the lead snake-man’s body apart from within in a tremendous blast, bursting open like an overinflated balloon. His body and entrails shattered into small pieces, scattering everywhere, a mist of blood spreading over the bridge.

The snake-men behind were also knocked over by the airflow; some of them, having recently experienced a similar explosive force in the sacrificial hall, were still wary of this sudden burst. So, even if some were not overthrown by the airflow, they were frightened enough to lie prone.

Thus, no snake-man saw the moment when the stone bridge broke. The remnants of the stone bridge quickly melted and disappeared into the molten lava, vanishing without a trace.

Lynch smiled slightly at his two companions, and the three turned and began running again at breakneck speed.

The snake-men got up from the ground, furious at the sight of the three continuing to flee. Perhaps they were also agitated by the embarrassing fact that they had been scared into lying prone before, spurring them to think only of how to skewer the three invaders ahead. A large group of snake-men roared as they surged onto the stone bridge before them.

But unfortunately, there was no bridge there now, only an illusion of one.

Hearing the sizzling sound and the abruptly halted screams behind him, Lynch knew a good show of "Magma Burning Snake" was playing out behind him. Deluo even sniffed the air jokingly, "Ah! It smells so good! Really good."

They were only a few steps away from the cave exit now. Once they crossed the last two stone bridges, they could safely reach the other side. Lynch glanced back, wanting to check whether the snake-men had caught up. What he saw made him jump. The snake-men hadn’t managed to follow; they were still trapped at the broken stone bridge, their attempts to leap over resulting in several falling into the magma, leaving not even ashes behind. But a massive purple worm had emerged from a newly excavated round passage, speeding madly towards the mage and his companions. Its thirty-meter-long, armor-plated purple skin glowed with a unique blood-red hue under the reflection of the red-hot lava. The creature’s enormous mouth, filled with sharp teeth, spun rapidly under the influence of special muscles. The first image that flashed through Lynch’s mind was falling into its mouth, being instantly torn into small pieces and then ground to dust. The purple worm’s massive body crossed the molten rivers, heading in a direct line toward them.

Standing atop the purple worm’s head was a snake-man, his face stained with fresh blood. Clad in a new robe of the Great Sacrificial Rite, he looked imposing as he gazed at the three prey before him.

Two stone bridges remained between them and the cave exit...

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