Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 908 - 901: Return without Success

Chapter 908: Chapter 901: Return without Success

"Wow, do you think the mages of the Aud Empire are actually competent, knowing that there’s a Snow God lurking at the bottom of the pit, which is why we dare not use magic?" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but complain.

"Probably not," Luo’er replied without looking back. "Clearly, it’s more likely that the Snow God was lured here by the magic crystal mine inside the tomb, and I don’t think these mages of the Aud Empire have the ability to control a Snow God."

"It could just be a coincidence, or perhaps, it was all calculated in advance," Tangmo pondered for a moment before saying.

"What do you mean?" Luo’er turned to her and asked.

"I’m just speculating, but what if the mages of the Aud Empire knew the Snow God would be lured by the magic crystal ore and therefore set up these traps? As soon as we trigger the mechanism and cause a disturbance, the Snow God would simply freeze us all to death," Tangmo analyzed.

"It won’t, definitely not," Axia said confidently from the side.

"How can you be so sure?" Tangmo asked, frowning at her.

"The Snow God appeared much later than the founding of the Aud Empire, the earliest sighting was even recorded during the period of the empire’s fragmentation, so these mages could not have possibly thought to use the Snow God in their schemes. I’m more inclined to believe it’s a coincidence. Also," Axia paused and looked at Luo’er, "I think what Luo’er said makes sense too; these people are mages, not beast tamers. Even if they knew about the Snow God’s existence, I doubt they have the ability to control it."

"This just complicates things; how are we supposed to explore these potential traps without disturbing the Snow God?" Luo’er sighed, speaking in distress.

"I still want to warn you," Axia said, "given that we now know the mages of the Aud Empire use spells as a means to trigger traps, we shouldn’t cast magic lightly because we don’t know how many magic array traps there are nearby; it’s very likely that a spell could immediately cause the entire passage to collapse."

"So this essentially nullifies the usefulness of mages, doesn’t it?" Tangmo said, frowning to herself.

"But it seems to matter little," Hu Daoke said, confidently holding up the light machine gun in his arms, "these ancient relics definitely couldn’t have imagined that a thousand years later, people from Earth would come to visit this Otherworld."

"Well, without a good plan in mind, we have no choice but to withdraw from here for now," Luo’er said, glancing at his mechanical watch with a serious expression.

"Eh, just like that we’re leaving?" Tangmo asked in surprise.

"It’s almost time to rendezvous, and if we don’t leave now, the people above will start worrying, and besides," Luo’er said, unable to help rubbing his arms and shivering, "haven’t you noticed that it’s getting colder in here?"

"Has Xiao Fula not dealt with the Snow God yet?" Hu Daoke looked back, a trace of worry in his voice.

"Regardless, the Snow God is still very dangerous. Even with Flora An soothing it, we shouldn’t continue to stay here. Instead, we should return to the surface and wait until the Snow God has fully calmed down before we head back down," Luo’er said.

"The boss is always so prudent, huh?" Hu Daoke shrugged his shoulders and remarked with a sigh.

"Yue’er, record the details of this door; everyone else fall back and prepare to evacuate. Little Ke, you stay here to help Yue’er with the recording," Luo’er ordered.

"Roger that!" Hu Daoke exaggeratedly saluted.

"Be careful not to touch anything recklessly and do not attempt to use magic; if this area is riddled with Magic Array Traps activated by Spells, we won’t be able to escape," Luo’er warned.

No one was surprised by Luo’er’s decision. If he had insisted on opening the door to the main tomb chamber despite the dangers, that would have been truly astonishing. Luo’er had always emphasized prudence, a quality everyone had grown accustomed to, so nobody stood up to oppose his opinion.

Following his orders, Baiyue began to sketch the situation of the stone door to the main tomb chamber with Hu Daoke’s assistance. Of course, her research on Rune Magic Circle magic wasn’t as advanced as Tangmo’s, making it difficult for her to detect the hidden Magic Arrays. She could only record the things that were visible.

Luo’er deliberately had the team split up to avoid a situation where they might all be caught at once. He even considered reducing the number of team members for the next time they entered the tomb. After all, the dangers below were very real, and fewer people meant fewer potential losses.

On their way back, Luo’er and the others also took the opportunity to visit the soldier chambers on both sides of the corridor, observing the Aud Empire soldiers who lay in eternal sleep.

Although more than a thousand years had passed, the deep helmets of these skeletons still maintained their basic shape; however, Luo’er guessed that if one were to touch them lightly, the armor would instantly turn to ash.

The soldiers of the Aud Empire from more than a thousand years ago did not wear the traditional plate armor, but rather cotton armor. This discovery surprised Luo’er, prompting him to try to analyze the situation.

Firstly, these soldiers of the Aud Empire must have fought in the Snow Domain. The temperature there was generally low, and although it hadn’t yet entered the Little Ice Age at that time, it was still very cold. Traditional metal armors often had trouble adapting to these conditions, whereas cotton armors effectively prevented such issues.

Secondly, the Aud Empire’s use of cotton armor was likely determined by the state affairs of the time. Cotton armor was relatively easy to produce and was also inexpensive; it did not require custom fitting, which suited the national circumstances of the Aud Empire at the time.

When the Aud Empire was established, it coincided with the peak of the Empire’s expansion. A large number of Aud people, along with those who joined the Aud Empire, enlisted in the Empire’s army. As the Empire continued to conquer and expand its territories, the need for a stabilizing army grew, and therefore standard-issue armor made sense given the national circumstances.

Luo’er speculated that at that time, the social strata of the Aud Empire had not yet solidified as they have today. A commoner who achieved military merits could still have a chance to rise to the upper echelons.

This is also why so many commoners joined the Empire’s army, striving for advancement. Unlike today, where the nobility completely dominates warfare and the common people are apathetic to such matters.

The temperature within the corridor was dropping lower and lower. Luo’er realized that they couldn’t continue to stay here before Fulajie’er had appeased the Snow God. Consequently, he signaled Baiyue and the others to stop recording and for everyone to return the way they came.

Back on the surface, it was already afternoon, and the weather remained clear with the sun hanging low in the southeastern sky. Despite the strong sunlight, the ground temperature remained around zero degrees. The melting snow absorbed too much heat, leading to a general low temperature at the surface.

Luo’er briefly recounted the situation inside the tomb to Cheng Ziang, who understood Luo’er’s decision very well. If it were up to him, Cheng Ziang would also have ordered his team to retreat the same way; after all, no one knew where the Magic Array Traps were or which Spells were required to activate them. Recklessly using magic inside the tomb could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Currently, the Advance Team exploring the tomb faced several issues, the primary one being the potential Magic Array Traps that limited their use of magic. However, since the team mainly relied on firearms, not frequently using magic was not a big concern.

Luo’er’s main worry was the second problem, which was how to ensure not to startle the Snow God and how to reach an understanding with it. If he could pacify the Snow God, he could actually let Fulajie’er freely use magic within the corridor to activate any potential traps without being as passive as they were now.

The presence of the Snow God was uncertain whether it was a coincidence or intentional, but with it there, the Advance Team was unable to act freely. If it felt even slightly provoked, it would release its cold breath in self-defense.

One should not underestimate this kind of cold breath, for it was no ordinary chill but a cold produced by the conversion of magic power. Such a magical cold gas would directly penetrate thermal clothing and go through the body right to the bones, just like magic power. It was an extremely dangerous and unreasonable form of magic.

Magic is the dominant rule in Otherworld, which means many things that happen here do not follow the physical laws familiar to us. For instance, the cold breath released by the Snow God would directly strip away both the surface and internal body heat of a person, regardless of how thickly they were dressed. Magic here is simply that unruly.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.