The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 426: Volume 8: Gathering of Wind and Clouds, - 13: Mysterious Guest_2

Chapter 426: Volume 8: Gathering of Wind and Clouds, Chapter 13: Mysterious Guest_2

The designs of the Miranda family were never conventional and rarely repeated, and Newman himself only had a rudimentary knowledge of mechanisms; he was not well-versed in architectural layouts and changes.

With a shrug indicating he couldn’t give the correct answer, Newman’s perplexed gaze wandered between the two stone staircases, "We could try going right," suggested a voice with a thick nasal tone, which must have belonged to the newly arrived mage.

"Oh, Mage Lome, could you explain your reasoning?" Mihailovich asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He respected this mysterious mage who was introduced by a friend.

"I have been to the Prometheus Maze before. Although the designs of the Miranda family are ever-changing, they still adhere to the dwarven tradition of honoring the right. I deduce that the paths at this fork will ultimately converge to the same destination. Of course, the rewards along the way might differ, but the magical prohibitions on the right are likely to be more magic-based, while the left might have more physical traps. Dwarves revere magic, so they would use magic prohibitions as an attack to welcome their esteemed guests at the place they deem suitable."

The tone was indifferent but convincing. Just mentioning the Prometheus Maze was enough to make people take notice. Escaping from the Prometheus Maze was nothing short of a rare miracle, and Newman’s look towards the other person was now filled with additional respect and envy. Perhaps he was planning to learn more about the designs of the Prometheus Maze’s mechanisms from this mysterious individual after this adventure.

"Most of us here excel in magic, so choosing the right might be more advantageous for us to open the doors that lead to our destination," the mysterious mage said after his explanation. He seemed not interested in saying more and looked elsewhere as if waiting for the group to make a decision.

"Well, Mage Lome does have a point. Although we have knights Solonberg and Vladimir Koff to aid us, magic is still our strong suit. Choosing the right might be more appropriate. Of course, once we reach our destination, we could also try the left passage if we have spare time, who knows, it might bring us a surprise," Rebry was the first to agree, and Mihailovich also showed support. Komer and Newman didn’t express any opinion, and the two Dark Knights indicated their silence as well.

With four abstaining and three agreeing, the decision was made to turn right. Rebry was at the forefront, followed by Mihailovich, with the two Dark Knights closely flanking them on each side. The one called Mage Lome closely followed Vladimir Koff, while Newman trailed behind Solonberg step by step.

Komer walked at the back, intentionally keeping a little distance from the rest. He had a premonition that the right stone staircase passage might not be as easy as Mage Lome had described. Of course, the same applied to the left. However, this feeling was purely instinctive without any basis, so Komer could only proceed with caution in silence.

One Sphere of Light Spell after another rose up, brightly illuminating the stone staircase passage. With the help of the light, Komer could clearly see the ax cuts and chisel marks on the walls and strange symbols and letters arranged in a specific order, though he couldn’t make out their content.

"These are Bureimoden Text, lost for hundreds of years. It is said that they were used by the Ape Tribe of the Beastmen, the strongest and wisest, and were lost after the tribe’s extinction. It’s unexpected to find them here," Newman said, his voice trembling slightly in the cold air, as if recalling something significant.

The Ape Tribe was originally the foremost among the seven Beastmen clans, and about five hundred years ago, they were considered the rulers among Beastmen. Their appearance had already diverged little from Mortals, and their wisdom was in no way inferior to Mortals’, but in terms of individual physical constitution, they were far stronger than Mortals. The Beamon Kingdom, under their rule, once occupied the entire middle and northern part of the Blue Continent, including most of the land that is now the Northern Alliance. Mortals and other races were squeezed into the southern part.

Just as the Beamons were making great strides, Tyson Manchi, the greatest king of the Ape Tribe, was suddenly assassinated under mysterious circumstances within the Army. Immediately following this, Ape Tribe Soldiers were almost without exception struck by a strange epidemic, and within just a few days, nearly all the Ape Tribe Soldiers had died.

The Beamon Allied Army immediately fell into civil war; other races’ armies took the opportunity to counterattack, and the Beamon Allied Army was quickly defeated. From then on, they remained weak, forced to retreat to their stronghold—the Wilderness of the North—and after this disaster, the Ape Tribe was also attacked by the other six tribes they had always suppressed. Since the prime of their population had been led out to war by Tyson, the remaining elderly, women, and children were soon swept away by the six tribes, and the Ape Tribe thus vanished from the seven great Beastmen clans.

Since then, the restless Beastmen could only cause trouble for countries of Mortals but were never again capable of posing a threat of extinction to other races like Tyson had done.

The moment Newman’s voice fell, Komer’s Spiritual Sense in his mind immediately issued a warning: a large number of undead creatures had appeared within the range of the sense, and at almost the same time, the other companions also detected the anomaly.

The thick Necromantic Aura instantly filled the entire passage; it was unclear which mechanism had been triggered, but the entire stone wall began to shake. Countless walls slowly cracked open, and one after another, white-haired Zombies slowly emerged from the gaps within the stone walls.

"My Father God! It’s the Giant Ape Corpses!" Newman could no longer control his emotions, his eyes nearly bursting, his pupils shrinking rapidly. He rarely used his Magic Wand, but he drew it from his chest in an instant this time, swiftly tracing circles with it, and a sharp voice suddenly rose in the passage, "Quick, stop them at once! They carry a unique combined corpse poison of the Giant Apes. Whoever is infected is beyond saving, not even White Magic can cure it!"

At the first sign of trouble, Komer had activated the Shield of Light, a high-level Light Magic that was both long-lasting and had considerable resistance, which had always been the best protection magic against these undead creatures. However, this was merely defensive Magic, and to completely resolve this batch of Giant Ape Corpses that had already cut off the group’s retreat would likely not be as simple as a few Light Magic spells could achieve.

Rebry and Mihailovich also activated their Magic Shields immediately, while the mysterious Mage Lome remained calm as usual, her slender fingers swiftly drew a circle in mid-air. Because of the distance and the chaotic situation in the room, even Komer, who was intentionally observing the other’s performance, failed to notice the Magic she was casting.

But soon Komer realized her method: nearly all of the white-haired Zombies that had been emerging from the stone wall gaps, originally speeding up, suddenly slowed down again, struggling as if weighed down, their snarling faces clearly constrained by Magic. The low growls the Zombies forced from their throats resonated in the passage.

"Gravity Spell?!" Surprised, Komer glanced at the other Mage, feeling more than ever that this Mage, shrouded in mystery, was quite inscrutable.

Gravity Spell is a Typical Space Magic that manipulates the forces of space to confine the opponent’s movements, somewhat similar to Dark Binding and other Dark Spells, but because it is pure and long-lasting and not able to be dispelled by magic spells—only physical force can break through or overcome—it is fundamentally different from Spells like Dark Binding.