BXBX NOVEL Chapter 571: Underdark Winter (1)
Two silhouettes were quickly heading deeper into a dark cave.
It wasn’t the first time for either of them to be entering the Underdark, but compared to Marvin, Jessica was clearly not as familiar with the place.
The terrain of Rocky Mountain and the surrounding areas was very complicated. Not only was it widely varied, but it was also littered with caves. She had frequently gone to the Underdark before to train.
But that was only the upper layer of the Underdark.
She had never been to the true Underdark.
Thus, she invited Marvin to go with her to navigate. Otherwise, with the Fate Sorcerer’s proud temper, she definitely wouldn’t accept anyone’s help.
This was also due to the current situation being too critical.
The three sisters managed to establish a completely new order in Rocky Mountain after triumphing over many great difficulties, but then they suddenly met with such a frightening encirclement.
If they couldn’t settle this issue, then that unending flow of monsters would swallow Hope City sooner or later!
Kate couldn’t leave Hope City.
She was the key to guarding the Source of Fire’s Order, and furthermore, with her unique Protection Power, she could help the Source expel the dark lifeforms.
This was the reason that Hope City had been able to hold on for so long.
Marvin could tell that Kate had become pale and haggard because she had to keep using her Fate Power.
This situation couldn’t be allowed to persist. She couldn’t contend against all the Underdark’s monsters alone. Jessica had gathered a large amount of information before finding clues that pointed toward the Eternal Frozen Spring.
As one of Hope City’s founders, Jessica definitely wouldn’t sit still and wait for their impending doom.
Marvin could understand her anxiety. If White River Valley had encountered this kind of trouble, it would have given him a huge headache.
It could only be said that Rocky Mountain was in a really awkward location. Even in the game, it had suffered repeated major assaults. It was a place well known for having many missions.
There were no Golden Children now, no players participating. It would be many times harder for the three sisters to hold off the enemies on their own.
As a close ally, Marvin wouldn’t just sit and watch.
After browsing the map of the Gloom Area that had been found by Jessica, the two quietly set off.
With the combined efforts of the two Legend powerhouses, it wasn’t hard for them to avoid a few transformed monsters.
These lifeforms weren’t very strong individually, but a sufficiently large number of them could cause some problems.
They entered from a tunnel entrance inside Hope City. As they progressed, they avoided several monsters coming up from the ground and continued into the darkness.
Along the way, they calmly studied the number and the quality of the monsters.
What worried Jessica was that the number of monsters coming out was more or less constant, but their overall strength was continuously increasing.
These monsters all had a distinctive feature. Their eyes were all completely white.
There were no impurities in those eyes, and they looked like snow.
This was the characteristic of Dark Specters!
’What extent did the Dark Specters expand to in this area?’
Marvin and Jessica glanced at each other with some apprehension.
The two kept going further down very carefully. By relying on Marvin’s previous experiences and his memory, they managed to avoid many dangers. Eventually, after about three hours, they reached the city of the Underdark that was closest to Rocky Mountain.
Marvin faintly recalled that this town was called [Blightsow]. It was a city established by the Duergar, the Gray Dwarves.
There were many mines in the surroundings of Blightsow, which attracted many Duergar to settle there. The Duergar didn’t welcome Drows or Bugbears, but were surprisingly okay with allowing the other races of the Underdark in, provided they could pay the fees to enter the city.
But as Marvin and Jessica bypassed a cave and reached a high platform, they both went silent when they looked at the city of Brightsow below them.
Brightsow had already turned into a ghost town!
A very tall building, a large city wall, crisscrossed streets... Everything was the same as Marvin remembered.
The only difference was that no one was there!
"Did the Duergar all move?" Marvin asked rhetorically. He found this rather hard to believe.
"Let’s go! Let’s enter the city and check it out!" Jessica proposed decisively.
The two had very high Perception and Marvin had Darksight. Jessica was using her Fate Power to open her Night Eye so that she could also see freely in the Underdark.
Since the city looked like a ghost town from their vantage point, the two decided that they didn’t need to hide themselves.
They directly jumped from the platform!
Jessica dropped like a meteor in the center of the area enclosed by Brightsow’s city walls.
A low sound echoed in the sky as Marvin turned into a Royal Griffin so that he could investigate the city from above.
"We’ll split up!"
The two had the same idea and went separate ways to start looking for clues in Brightsow.
...
Marvin spread his wings, hovering stably for a bit before starting to slowly descend.
He flew over the street, his eyes burning like torches. But he didn’t see a single living being no matter where he looked.
Duergar buildings had very recognizable characteristics. They tended to be short but imposing. They were experts in the fields of architecture and forging. If not for them generally being too sinister, Marvin would have been interested in inviting a few Duergar to settle in White River Valley.
But the strength of that group of Dwarves couldn’t be underestimated.
In the end, what could have happened to make them give up on the city they had been living in for a few hundred years?
Marvin had a vague idea.
’The Butterfly Effect... Does it really have to be so serious?’
’The Dragon God’s Wrath started ahead of time, and now, even the [Underdark Winter] also shifted to an earlier date.’
Marvin forced a smile.
The [Underdark Winter]... This name not only represented an extremely harsh climate that started before the Great Calamity, but it was also the first large-scale storyline quest!
But in his memories, the [Underdark Winter] happened after the [Rocky Mountain Defense] quest!
Here, the Dark Clan’s invasion had yet to begin. Instead, there was a problem with the Eternal Frozen Spring, catching Marvin a bit unprepared.
His previous experiences and memories had already been losing their effectiveness, making it more and more dubious to continue depending on them.
He needed to make his own judgements.
At that moment, Marvin noticed a Duergar staggering around!
The Dwarf was holding a barrel of alcohol that was about his own size!
’A person?’
Marvin was pleased and dismissed his Shapechange skill as he landed on the streets below.
The Duergar was drinking noisily from the barrel and didn’t even notice Marvin approaching.
"Gulp gulp!"
A great amount of alcohol was sloshing around in his stomach.
He was muddle-headed, unable to stop.
Marvin frowned faintly before activating his Domain, [Slaughter]!
He didn’t use his advanced False Divine Vessel to activate his Domain, only using his Legend power to activate it.
This was sufficient.
As the power from the aura of the Slaughter Domain washed over the originally drunk Duergar, he suddenly shuddered and nearly fell down!
Marvin stared coldly at him and said, "Answer a few questions for me."