Chapter 985 (1/2)

Kacha.

Gabe placed the pitch-black crystal on the empty slate. A hexagonal ritual appeared and shone faintly above. He retracted his hand, gazing at the ritual in satisfaction. He turned to his adorable students. Or, his adorable ex-students.

“What a waste of this seedbed…”

Gabe gazed sullenly at the decomposed corpse of Stewart, whose mouth had become as long as a crocodile’s. It split at the opening into four, revealing several tentacle-like tongues. Gabe had high hopes for him and believed that he could become the next seedbed after he reincarnated. But he didn’t expect the earlier battle to cripple this favorite apprentice of his. Even though Mini Bubble Gum had no intention of killing Stewart, his entire body was completely flushed by her holy energy. Gabe had no choice but to make him into a low-class devil sacrificial product.

It’s about time now.

Gabe nodded, gazing at the slate meaningfully. Everything was going as planned. Even though he didn’t have a godlike system map like Rhode, he also had a unique way to track the apprentices’ locations. The team that he led was the last to reach the tenth floor and this wasn’t only for safety measures. If the other teams were eliminated and lost the teleportation crystals, he could still send his devils to recover the crystals. But it seemed like it wasn’t necessary anymore. It was a pity that after losing the devils, he couldn’t monitor their movements any longer. He wondered how the powerful group of outsiders were doing. If they were still in the labyrinth, they might make the situation worse…

But he believed that they must have entered deep into the labyrinth already.

A few days ago, Gabe sensed that the seal on the tenth floor’s entrance door was destroyed. That was a seal that he dispatched his devils to set up after meeting Rhode’s group before. Since the seal was destroyed, it meant that Rhode’s group should have already left the tenth floor and headed deeper into the maze. But this was fine too…

Gabe revealed a wry smile. As soon as the channel connecting to the Bottomless Abyss was opened up, countless devils would swarm this place and no matter how powerful those people were, they could never defeat them!

I shall return the humiliation you’ve given me by a hundred times!

He let out a scoff before leaving with his subjects. After they were no longer around, a petite white elf appeared from the shadows sneakily. She smiled, placing a metal ring over the black crystal, before vanishing into the darkness again.

“The fish has taken the bait.”

Rhode snorted and said softly. The apprentices heard him and turned pale instantly. They managed to reach here safely after surviving the ordeals before, but didn’t expect this bad news: their apprentice test was a conspiracy by the devils!

Richard and his team were in disbelief. The two mentors who were possessed by the devils broke free after Christie used [Knowledge Scroll] on them. Thereafter, the apprentices realized that the mentors had fallen into Gabe’s trap where their teleportation crystals were also meddled with. If it weren’t for Christie, perhaps they would be beyond rescue now.

Even though it was hard to believe, everyone accepted this cold-hard truth. The teleportation crystals had all been meddled with and they couldn’t leave the Deepest Labyrinth now. All they could do now was to follow Rhode’s instructions and wait patiently as bait for the big fish to get hooked on. And now, they were in the final stages.

“Will everything be fine, Rhode?”

Canary knitted her brows and whispered into his ear.

“If our target is Grazite, who is around level 90 as a devil lord, I think we will need at least a team of 25 to take him down. Perhaps it will not be enough with only me, you, Bubble, and the summoned spirits, even if we meddled with the teleportation ritual… You are also aware that devils will be an annoying bunch after the teleportation ritual is activated. Even though the mages will assist us, their support will be limited.”

Indeed, just as Canary mentioned, Grazite wouldn’t be an easy BOSS in terms of level. Top players in the game had to form a party of 25 members and needed an experienced leader in order for them to stand a chance to defeat him. Although they had sufficient members now, it was still too risky for their levels. Even with the help of Christie, she still wouldn’t be too effective if it weren’t the other ‘Christie’ engaging in battle because Grazite would send out waves of devils before he showed up. The devils would be around level 70 and the endless number of them would wreak havoc. It wouldn’t be an issue for Rhode’s group to take them out. But they weren’t certain of their chances in taking out Grazite later, and even Canary was concerned.

“Don’t worry, they have the human wave tactic while we have our reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?’

Mini Bubble Gum cocked her head to the side curiously.

“What reinforcements, Leader? Why didn’t I hear you mention it before?”

Rhode placed his finger on his smiling lips.

“You will know when the time is right.”

The tall stone doors opened and flame torches around the wide hall lit up instantly. Gabe strolled toward the center of the hall, and beside him were Stewart and three other devils who no longer looked like humans. Gabe’s body slowly transformed with each step he took forward. His smooth skin cracked and fell off his body like loose stone, revealing the pitch-black scales underneath. A pair of goat-like horns drilled out of his forehead. A putrid aura of purgatory erupted from his body, shaping into black smoke that enfolded him.

“O’ mighty lord! I humbly ask that you hear my prayers and summons!”

Gabe, who had completely turned into a devil, raised his four arms. The thick, mysterious aura of purgatory diffused wildly, spinning and forming into dense black clouds that drifted around the ceiling. At the same time, the massive teleportation ritual shone around its perimeter and slowly flowed inward to shape an intricate pattern. Gabe’s loud, hoarse, and evil snarl of the Abyss language resounded in the empty room. As he chanted the curse, the ritual beneath his feet glowed brighter. Roaring lightning bolts struck out from the dark clouds onto the ground to become one with the teleportation ritual.

In the blink of an eye, the dark clouds expanded to reveal a twisted, indistinct void filled with billows of smoke and scarlet flames, as well as strange, evil-looking buildings. The revolting stench diffused and enveloped the entire hall.

“My lord, please hear my voice! The channel has opened; the connecting plane shall reveal itself once again!”