Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 343: Section 235: Everyone is a bridge to happiness for each other (4)

Chapter 343: Section 235: Everyone is a bridge to happiness for each other (4)

The hunter and the hunted smiled as they descended, while on the other side, hunter and prey were on the ascent.

Ails walked in the corridor leading to the fourth floor; ahead of him, the remnants of the Lich’s forces were struggling in their death throes, but it was utterly useless. Ails had summoned his subordinates—Madame Aurelia Doman and her banshees were playing hide and seek in the stone walls on both sides with the opponent’s pitifully few wraiths, while Black Knight Morgan Dor was responsible for the attack up front.

Although Ails did not know why the Prairie Elf wanted him to hunt down the wizard, since he had received the elf’s deposit, he felt that he could not abandon the task halfway.

It wasn’t that Ails, as a bone Lich, lacked the courage to tear up a contract; if he hadn’t had such courage during the last collaboration, how could he have made a fortune?

The only problem was still the Prairie Elves; these little dwarfs of one meter twenty, although not particularly frightening to Ails unless they were of the same caliber as Kakalai, were diligent in hammering the undead. In the Multiverse, even devils liked to trade with them. And these one meter twenty creatures loved to stick together, and with a powerful entity like Nameless behind them, if you pick on the young ones, a bunch of old ones could leap out at any moment. Ails truly did not want these one meter twentys to keep him on their mind all day.

So, since there was a deal, it was better just to complete it honestly. Besides, Ails really liked that kind of crystal; strengthening his own possessions was never unwelcome. Next time Old Master Kakalai had something for him, he promised to run faster than a Hellhound.

Thinking of this, Ails was quite satisfied and ’smiled’—the soul’s whispers traveled through the corridors, and Ails didn’t mind if the twisted laughing and soul’s whispers were heard by the other side—after all, he was just mocking their doomed fate. As for living people... what a joke, he had never seen a living person here before.

But after some thought, Ails decided to let Madame Aurelia finish off her opponent and then lead her subordinates to scout upward.

If they could kill a few locals, they might even obtain the coordinates of this place.

At this thought, Ails’s soul heated up—being a bone Lich, what he loved most was reaping the lives of those clinging desperately to survival.

......

Malin listened closely; he seemed to hear some unpleasant laughter. Considering he was immune to illusions, he looked toward the four in front of him; Cohen had already noticed Malin’s recent gesture of listening, he stomped his foot, signaling the team to halt: "What’s the matter?"

"I think I heard some strange laughter, you didn’t hear it, did you?" Malin looked at them.

Cassie shook her head: "My intuition is only at four, I didn’t hear anything." After speaking, she started casting a Spell Formation... Well, she even forgot about such things.

"No." Ails finished and looked around: "This is the second floor, you sure you heard something?"

"Yes." Malin answered, took down the shotgun hanging over his shoulder, and started to load it: "Who has mechanical mind?"

"We have accessories." Cohen pulled out a necklace from the edge of his collar and said.

Malin reached out and tapped them each with mechanical mind—one of the best ways to counter a Spiritual Body’s illusions. Although Spiritual Bodies could still possess, at least they couldn’t turn these individuals into their pawns before the possession took place.

"Four second-circle spells at once... Are you really not a Magician?" Engma furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, I’m just a Mage, I prefer to cast spells." Malin replied while noticing Cassie had already moved to the staircase leading to the third floor. He quickly went over and stood in front of the stairs; he could feel the cold breeze coming from the lower level: "There’s something down there."

It was definitely some Spirits or a different kind lurking below. Considering the Tech Hunters also did not know where these came from, Malin thought it over and could not explain it with gaming terms like "spawn"; it must be that there was some undetectable rift below.

"Right, something’s down there, old rules, Cassie and I will lead, Engma watch the ceiling, Cohen, you and Malin watch the rear." Ails stood beside Malin, felt it for a moment, and then nodded.

"No, wait a second, what’s your intuition, Cohen?" Malin turned to look at Cohen.

"Nine, higher than Cassie’s." Cohen said.

"Then you take care of Cassie, remember, no matter who calls you, don’t go over, don’t look at them, remember those behind you are us." As Malin was speaking, he had already cast a Suggestion Spell on him and Cassie— if a Spiritual Body tried to suggest them, it would have to compete with the difficulty of his own spell.

"Hmm." They nodded as rapidly as pounding garlic.

"Ails, you can’t see my expression, if you think there’s something wrong with me, ask me if it’s raining outside today, I will reply that the bakery’s sold out." Malin finished speaking, put on his helmet, placed the ultraviolet flashlight on the holder on his left, and turned it on: "Ails, let’s go."

"No problem, I’m behind you on your left, hope we won’t need the code." The voice of Ails came from behind Malin’s left.

"Let’s go." Malin said, walking down the stairs.

The descent stairs here were an escalator, unlike the pulley spiral stairs from the first floor; this place retained more of the era’s appearance.

Descending to the third floor, Malin quickly scanned the right side: "Right side is clear." He found himself on a small platform; looking to the right, there was a deep shaft like a courtyard, with the top looking like a metal structure, which seemed to be at street level.