Chapter 124: Infiltration

The method of “infiltration” is quite simple.

From the current observations, the forces preventing outside beings from entering the 【Abyss Demon Island】 are merely the Dead Fog and the numerous Abyss Beasts and Abyss Worms surrounding the island.

The Dead Fog—this sinister environment created by the Earth Mother Goddess’s power of 【Withering】—might be an insurmountable barrier for ordinary people, but to the Priestess, it is not difficult to handle.

On the other hand, the guarding forces—those Abyss creatures—are also quite manageable.

There’s no need to wipe them out completely; just leading them away temporarily is sufficient.

“Go now, I’ll join you shortly.”

“Yes, Master.”

The figure of the Giant Dragon gracefully descended, gradually disappearing into the dense fog, while the petite body of Miss Vilyric cloaked in white robes began to radiate a golden light.

That golden light grew increasingly bright and dazzling, concealing the traces of the Black-haired Girl, expanding outward like a massive golden orb, almost akin to a second shining sun in the sky.

Even the layers of thick fog could not obscure the blinding light and pure Light Element, which instantly attracted a multitude of Abyss Beasts circling the island. They flocked towards the expanding orb like moths drawn to a candle.

In no time, over half, tens of thousands of Abyss Beasts surged forth from all directions, even those terrifying giant worms, twisting their bizarre bodies and stretching over a thousand meters, were drawn to it as well, casting their gaze that way.

However…

That seemingly radiant and intense golden light was, in reality, completely harmless. When the first Abyss Beast finally charged into the very center, intending to attack this unidentified provocateur, it discovered that it was utterly empty inside.

“?

The combat intelligence of the Abyss Beasts is quite remarkable, yet they are rather rigid when dealing with certain logical behaviors. They flitted about the nearby area like headless flies, continuing their aimless wandering until the golden light expanded to its limit and then slowly shrank and disappeared.

Utterly futile.

…

A fierce wind mingled with the thick gray fog rushed towards them. That terrifying Dead Fog, which could reduce ordinary beings to nothing with a mere touch, had no effect on the Black-haired Girl fully enveloped within.

Even without the protection of 【Feather Garb: Glareya】, Vilyric’s divine body was not something easily harmed by a mere basic creation of the Earth Mother Goddess’s power.

The intensity of the Dead Fog here was stronger than that above the 【Abyss Well】 or the 【Southern Disaster】, yet even so, it was still insufficient—not nearly enough.

Realizing this, the confidence the Girl had was further solidified.

Under the double acceleration of 【God’s Feather】 and gravity, it wasn’t long after the Priestess jumped into the gray fog after the feint that she had already reached the 【Abyss Demon Island】.

As expected, everyone was already waiting for her nearby as planned.

Vilyric glanced around; Xiao Guang, Leila, Renée, Sigrid, and the four temple priests were all present, indicating that the impromptu plan had been quite successful.

“Oh, Vilyric is here! What did you do outside? You look rather terrifying.”

Sigrid pointed at the large expanse of golden light slowly fading in the sky and casually produced a small pearl of the same color from her pocket, handing it to the Priestess.

“Here, it’s yours. This thing really can block the Dead Fog; I didn’t know you had such a treasure.”

“Haha… Just a little sleight of hand. It’s not a treasure at all; you keep it. There’s Dead Fog everywhere here, and though it’s not as dense as outside, breathing it in for long periods isn’t safe. You might as well use it when we leave later.”

The Priestess smiled as she pushed back the thing from Sigrid’s palm. This golden little pearl wasn’t what one might call a precious item; indeed, it didn’t even rank as an in-game item.

To put it simply, it’s a solid crystal made by Vilyric continuously compressing high-purity Light Element. This kind of thing would automatically emit small-scale “light” like a luminous pearl, serving a similar function to ward off evil and avoid calamity.

Sigrid and the others were powerful legendary beings with a considerable resistance to the Dead Fog. Coupled with the protection granted by this Light Element crystal, crossing external barriers was naturally no issue.

Previously, they had taken advantage of Vilyric capturing the attention of the guarding Abyss Beasts to sparsely infiltrate the place and, given their proximity, they easily regrouped.

It was also easy for Vilyric to find them; even without utilizing the conspicuous means of Soul Network, the Light Element crystal crafted by the Priestess herself was the most convenient guide.

“Well then, I won’t be polite! What’s your plan next?”

Although Sigrid appeared to be the squad leader on the surface, it was clear that after dealing with Vilyric frequently, she, like the others, began to gradually see this mysterious and reliable Priestess Girl as the backbone.

“Don’t rush.”

Vilyric did not answer immediately but turned first to survey the surroundings.

Just as she had seen from above, there were no traces of buildings or such on this bizarre island; apart from the thick vines on the ground, there were these protruding, grayish masses that rose from the ground at regular intervals.

Vilyric was unsure of its overall structure since most of these things were buried underground. The exposed parts resembled half-open flowers, with thin streams of gray mist constantly spilling from the centrally indented areas, mingling with the thick fog in the sky.

These masses, or as they could be called, pits weren’t densely spread across the entirety of her vision but were neatly arranged on the ground like well-planned plants, each surrounded by roughly several dozen square meters of open space.

How to say… This scene reminded Vilyric of exhaust vents from those gigantic machines back on the Blue Star, or perhaps shipment holes from production devices.

“…It should be below.”

“Master, what’s below?”

Responding to the Giant Dragon’s confusion, the Black-haired Girl pointed at the ground.

“If I’m not mistaken, what we’re seeing now is merely the surface layer of the island; the truly important and eerily mysterious things should be down below, which is the interior of this floating island.”

“Otherwise, even with the Dead Fog and Abyss Beasts guarding it, the defenses here would be far too lax. Moreover, we’ve been here for so long without encountering any attacks, indicating that these surface things aren’t considered a priority.”

“What’s the more important thing you’re referring to, Vilyric?”

Yes, what indeed…

This was also what the Priestess wanted most to clarify at that moment; although she had her suspicions, she could not completely confirm them.

“Who knows? We won’t know until we see it.”

Saying so, Vilyric casually walked over to the nearest pit beside the group and tried to touch the grayish protruding walls inside.

No response; it was probably not a living thing like the 【Disaster】.

   

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