Arcane Journey

Chapter 65 Lichen Lich
Purple mushrooms filled the caverns, growing as tall as a man with sticky rhizomes.

Mycelium floated down from the dome of the cavern, glinting softly with a lavender light.

The golden elf Severil and the goblin copper nugget moved forward in the shimmering purple shadows.

He saw a human and an orc suspended in midair about 10 feet above the cave floor.

Their flesh and oozing mycelium are tightly entangled, like two disgusting moldy mixtures.

"Good-hearted adventurer, show mercy, please save us."

Intermittent painful pleas echoed in Severil's mind, making him unable to help but look at the two captives above his head a few more times.

The two hanging people didn't make sounds with their mouths, but were similar to the telepathy of the mushroom people, which made him vaguely aware of something.

"Don't be surprised." Copper Nugget didn't even bother to look at the two people hanging in the air, he said in a familiar thin voice:

"This human is called Conrad, and the half-orc is called Luga. They have completely merged with the fungus and turned into another creature."

"I beg... you guys, please be merciful and save us from the pain." The begging sound echoed in the minds of the two of them again as the mycelium swayed from side to side.

"Let me tell you, killing you is the greatest mercy."

Copper Nugget shrugged his little shoulders helplessly, raised his head and said to the two hanging people, "However, since you don't want to get this kind of kindness, I have nothing to do with Timorah."

After finishing speaking, he raised his head to wink at the golden elf beside him, and immediately walked deep into the cave.

Several glanced at the two of them thoughtfully.

He was surprised to find that the intertwined hyphae grew out of their own bodies, and then took root on the stone wall of the cave roof, which formed the hanging appearance.

He finally understood why the little goblin who was leading him refused to save them.

Because if you want to save them, you must cut off the mycelium, but the role of mycelium for these two people is more like the relationship between plants and rhizomes.

Therefore, if these two creatures that have completely turned into fungi are cut off, it means death.

This made him wonder what kind of evil lich it was that made such a cruel experiment.

Led by the goblin, the two came to the center of the oval cave.

The first thing Severil saw was a circle of brightly colored mushrooms, ranging in height from three feet to eight feet, and there was a strong musty smell in the air.

The walls of the cave are densely covered with poisonous white vines and dotted with sparkling purple flowers.

It reminded him of Wisteria Gardens in the High Forest, his mother's family residence, where he had grown up.

Unfortunately, he hasn't been back to that elf manor for 50 years, and he doesn't know what his mother's family residence has become.

He didn't dare to give too much hope, because the greater the hope, the disappointment will often follow.

Severil sighed softly, put away his thoughts, and continued to follow the goblin's footsteps.

The moment the two came into contact with a circle of brightly colored mushrooms.

The vines clinging to the wall began to tremble slightly, and the purple flowers bloomed at a speed visible to the naked eye, exuding a sweet aroma.

"It's sleeping spores."

The copper block sniffed the fragrance in the air, and said nonchalantly, "However, don't worry, we have the potion from the mushroom man king, and they can't do anything to us at all."

Several nodded approvingly.

Basdia is the priest of the Great Fungi Lord, and no one knows how to guard against the spores of the myconids better than him.

At this moment, two mold-covered skeletons suddenly stood up from the dense flora. Their bodies were covered with armor made of calcified moss, and they were all covered with fungi.

"What are you still doing, kill them!"

Seeing the two mold-covered skeletons, Copper Nugget ran away, hid behind Severil far away, and pointed to him: "The two skeletons guarding the gate are very powerful. Only by killing them can we Through the entrance of the tunnel."

Severil was too lazy to talk nonsense with this little goblin. He carefully examined his two enemies, and after determining how to deal with them, he quickly drew out the thin-edged elf sword and poured it with powerful mana.

—— "Thundering Vortex!"

A vortex of arcane energies formed between Severil's sword swings.

The flashing lightning flashing in the vortex formed a powerful pulling force, forcibly wrapping the two skeletons tightly, making it impossible for them to break free.

The skeleton flicked its weapon and shield in a panic, but it had no effect, as if a huge palm grabbed them and mercilessly wrapped it in front of the golden elf.

——"Frozen Blade Ring Sweep!"

The lavender cold eyes of the sword mage Xavieril locked the two skeletons, and the elf thin-edged sword held in his right hand shook slightly, and a layer of frost crystals instantly condensed on the surface of the sword.

He gripped the sharp sword tightly, and slashed out horizontally, venting a burst of cold winter aura straight ahead.

The moment the two skeletons engulfed by the vortex touched the cold air of the sword light, they suddenly turned into two crystal clear ice sculptures.

"Bang! Bang!"

Immediately afterwards, the two ice sculptures fell to the ground and fell apart.

"Nice job!"

Copper Nugget ran to the side of the sword mage, stared at the dead fungus skeleton, and marveled, "It can be seen that you are much stronger than the follower girl next to Brian."

Severil withdrew the thin-edged sword and snorted softly, but there was no earthling's words.

Of course he knew who the goblin was referring to with the girl.

Although both belong to the knowledge recorded in the broken pages of the ancient Yaling, through the induction of the fairy wilderness, he became a sword mage.

But he knew very well that the sword mage named Hesaiah advanced to be the messenger of chaos, and he was the personal guard of the crowned king who belonged to the elves.

In his opinion, Chaos Herald's savage fighting style, which can only control the power of elemental chaos, has no aesthetic feeling at all, just like a barbarian among warriors.

He believes that perfect control and perfect understanding of oneself is the key to gaining true power, and this is the most elegant and reserved elf fighting method of a sword mage.

Whether it is the Chaos Herald of the Kingdom of Cormyr or the Shadow Guard Assassin of the City of Shadows, none of them can stand on the stage. Only the Crown Prince's Guard of the Elf family is the most orthodox inheritance of the sword mage.

Besides, his strength was one notch higher than that of the human sword mage, how could she be on par with her.

The two continued walking, and in this cave with steps, the air was heavy and decayed.

The upper terrace is dotted with patches of brightly colored mushrooms, and in the middle is a narrow stone staircase leading to a nearly hemispherical tunnel below.

The walls of the lower chambers are covered with murals carved from fungi, depicting many animals and fey creatures.

As Severil walked, he looked at the murals in the cave.

Whether it was the color, texture, or pattern of the mural, he felt an inexplicable nausea.

At the same time, he also saw in a bundle of parchment scrolls that he accidentally picked up, which described in detail the research on Sindakra - the 222nd layer of the abyss.

It was a fetid wasteland of fungus and ooze, and this was where Zugmoy ruled.

This made him realize that the appearance of the Fungal Queen is absolutely inseparable from the lich hiding here.

Under the guidance of the goblin, they drilled into a dark tunnel like a maze.

Through the winding tunnel, the two came to the end of the road.

Severil had to admit that the little goblin who led the way was more skilled than the elf ranger in the highest forest, which made him have to put away his contemptuous eyes.

They emerged narrowly in the dead corner of a cave supported by natural rock pillars, filled with fungi and tree-sized mushrooms, and more ooze.

The stench pervades the dark cavern, where the remains of various animals hang from the walls and ceiling.

A rotting corpse that looks like a displacement beast, but with more tentacles and limbs.

A miniature keel with two heads, the flesh has rotted, its body curled up in an extremely unnatural way, its wings spread strangely, as if it was suffering from some unknown pain.

Severil found in disbelief that it turned out to be the remains of a goblin dragon.

Because the skeleton retained the bright fairy appearance, but the clothes were torn, and the translucent wings seemed to wither and shatter if touched lightly.

He didn't even let such a cute fairy dragon go, he suppressed the anger in his heart, immediately withdrew his gaze, and forcibly moved it to the owner of the room.

He saw that under the largest mushroom in the cave, there was another dissected yellow fairy dragon on a moss-covered table. It was covered with a strange red liquid and covered with a strange mist. .

A figure in a robe is engaged in a frenzied experiment.

Not far away, the drow elf Curze was locked in an iron cage.

The strange thing was that he jumped up and down excitedly, shaking the cage, as if he wanted to take a good look at what the man in the robe was doing, and he wasn't afraid of his situation at all.

"Poor guy," the little goblin whispered to the drow in the cage.

"Ah! You are finally here, and you are still a pure-blooded elf. My test product is here. I have been waiting for a long time, and I can finally carry out the long-suspended experiment."

Sensing the existence of him and the goblin, the figure turned around stiffly, picked up the staff, and said excitedly after patting on the ground.

When Severil looked up at the past, cold hatred flashed through his lavender eyes.

This is an elven lich wearing the holy symbol of Sivanus, the god of nature.

But unlike ordinary liches, he looked like a skeleton covered in fungi and bark-like lichens, and the vines in his chest writhed wildly, exuding a viscous black liquid.

He showed a distorted smile, and a sticky khaki liquid flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably.

"who are you?"

Severil stared coldly at the lich in front of him, with the purest disgust and anger in his eyes, "You have completely disgraced the elves, and you are not worthy of being a child of Avando."

"Fuck your sons and daughters of Alvandor! Don't pretend to be superior here and preach to me, hateful guy!" The lich screamed:

"I used to be a golden elf who lived in the highest forest and believed in the god of nature as a druid, but my forest home was destroyed by the abyssal demons of Hellgate Fortress, and even our 'City of Peace' Ilranser You are all tortured by the flames of war, what are you noble people doing? You will only hide in the island of Evermeeting.

You only know how to drink and have fun, and you never keep the tragic history permanently in your memory.

In order to save my homeland, I can only make weapons against the demons of the abyss by studying fungi and lichens, and protect our forest from the influence of demons.Are you even going to stop me? ! "

"You are wrong, we have never been indifferent, nor will we ignore it, let alone abandon the homeland that was abandoned during our retreat." Severil shook his head helplessly, looked at the mad lich with pity, and turned to He patiently narrated:

"In fact, I am the vanguard officer of the Elven Expeditionary Army from the Island of Evermeeting. Our clansmen who moved to the Island of Evermeeting are already responding to His Excellency Crown Prince's call and preparing to recover the High Forest and Comanthor. We call it the revival of the elves. 'jihad'."

"What are you talking to him about? Can't you see it? This guy has long been corrupted by the fungal queen."

Looking at the indifferent Severil, the goblin copper block who had already been hiding at the door became anxious, and quickly shouted: "Kill him quickly, otherwise, it will be dangerous to send him to Brian."

"Although your experiences and misfortunes make me empathize and express my sympathy, it does not mean that your evil deeds are worthy of praise." Severil stopped talking nonsense, and he drew out the elf thin-edged sword, and a cold light flashed from the ancient blade However, it converges on the elf runes carved on the edge of the sword.

The Fungal Queen Zugmoy's ultimate goal is the Fungal Forest beneath the High Forest.

If the expansion of Zugmoi cannot be stopped in the lightless forest, then one day in the future, the fungal forests in the Underdark, and even the highest forests on the surface, will be ravaged by fungal saprophytic plague infection.

This was what Brian told him before he left.

Although he didn't know how this mysterious half-elf battle mage knew these things, he believed in his words.

Severil stared at the crazy Lichen Lich, his former clansman, his eyes were soft, but his words were as cold as ice:
"You must pay the price for your evil deeds. Let me personally send you to the kingdom of Avandor to meet the trial of our lord Corellon Larethian, a fallen tribe corrupted by demons."

"It's up to you? No one can stop me!"

The lichen lich crazily let out howls like tearing skulls.

He glanced at Severil with disdain, and waved his big mold-covered hand. The drow elf Curzi, who was locked in the cage, was jumping happily, his body suddenly stiffened, and quickly withered into a shriveled shell.

"Hahaha, you can't kill me. My phylactery has long been fused with the great Mrs. Fungus. Let me personally send you to embrace the great Mrs. Fungus, my sad clansman."

With the Lichen Lich's hideously twisted smile, the life force he had stolen was instantly transformed into a scarlet shield.

The Goblin Copper Nugget let out an exclamation, jumped into the shadows without saying hello, and disappeared.

…………

(End of this chapter)