Chapter 344: The Burrow XVIII
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Battle Command was an institute formed under the will of the demon-hunting expedition’s Stigmata Sorcerer to lead and draw up all the Demon-hunting Sorcerers’ battle plans. It wasn’t someplace that a normal Demon-hunting Sorcerer could waltz into.
Sometimes, the Battle Command would directly contact Demon-hunting Sorcerers who have earned Honor Badges, but they would not meet physically.
They were like the spiritual think-tanks of the demon-hunting expedition. They would receive the highest order of protection from the demon-hunting expedition, mostly from the Dawn Sages as well as a few demon-hunting trial members.
The normal Demon-hunting Sorcerer that gave out missions were merely shadows of the Battle Command. They were called the messengers of the demon-hunting pact. They were just ordinary Bright Demon-hunting Sorcerers.
The room within the metal aircraft wasn’t very spacious.
They were still at the early stages of exploring the Burrow World. The Dark Demon-hunting Sorcerer teams in the second Battle Command of the Burrow World who were looking for missions were sparse.
Grimm, in his loose dark sorcerer’s robe and his pale gray spiral Mask of Truth, clutched his Sabbatic Goat Staff and walked slowly toward a messenger of the demon-hunting pact in the middle of a great hall with the beautiful, fat Myna perched on his shoulder.
“This is my mission scroll of exploring the passageways of the Burrow World. I need the mission assignments.”
The mission required Grimm to first head into the second Battle Command within the Snowthread Burrow. From here, his exploration route would be arranged by the Battle Command.
If the route was not assigned properly, the demon-hunting sorcerers would wander around aimlessly. If they encountered a burrow like the Wolfspider’s, death would be the only option.
This was a quiet sorcerer who wore a spectacle. There was a slight reflection of the magical lamp in his glasses, which covered his deep, intelligent eyes.
Unlike the other messengers of the demon-hunting pact that Grimm has ever met, there was a plaque that read “Lucian” on his desk.
The elemental lights in Grimm’s eyes lit up slightly beneath the Mask of Truth. Was that his name?
Lucian raised his head and looked at Grimm. The reflection in his glasses disappeared. He did not speak a word. A cloud of elemental flame appeared from thin air to form a chain of words that were in the sorcerer’s language.
Grimm squinted at the sight. Such astounding control over the natural forces…
After being stunned for a brief moment, Grimm looked toward the chain of words.
“Open up the Skeletal Tunnel of the Snowthread Burrow. Return for debriefing after the Bright Sorcerer legions have finished clearing the deepest layer of the most powerful burrow.”
Grimm pondered for a moment.
Looking at it with the Snowthread Burrow as the core of the Burrow World, out of the countless tunnels above them, the larger the tunnel entryway was, the more Snowthread worms there were. This indicated that the creatures in the burrow were weaker.
In the opposite sense, if the tunnel entryway was narrower, it means that there are powerful creatures living in the burrow above who could wipe off a large number of Snowthread Worms to thin their population.
Hence, only a handful of Snowthread Worms were able to reach the Snowthread Burrow.
But the Skeletal Tunnel?
Grimm recalled coming across a huge pile of skeletal remains in the Wolfspider Burrow during his journey from the Surficial Tundra to the Snowthread Burrow.
The creatures from the various burrows before they’d reached the Wolfspider Burrow were no threat at all to Alxa, Grimm, and the rest of the Dark Demon-hunting Sorcerers.
Although a huge army of Bright Sorcerer legions had cleared past the Wolfspider Burrow, some of the remaining creatures still posed a formidable threat toward the Demon-hunting Sorcerers that subsequently moved in. They were strangely powerful creatures.
Well then…
Did that mean that the sites where they came across the skeletal remains were places where powerful creatures defended against the invasive Acraepoids, where vicious slaughters had taken place?
Weaker creatures lived in the tunnels before the place where they came across the skeletal remains and didn’t pose a huge threat to the Acraepoids.
The passageways that the Battle Command had assigned them to explore were tunnels that had skeletal remains in them within the Snowthread Burrow. Did this mean that the creatures that were living in the burrows above the skeletal remains were pretty weak, similar to those burrows that came before the Wolfspider Burrow?
At least there should be a correct path that was opened up by the Acraepoids!
By the same logic, were there powerful creatures living beneath the site where they found the skeletal remains at the Surficial Tundra by chance?
They should feel so lucky that Grimm did not investigate deeper due to time constraints.
If not, who knows what kind of dangers they would get themselves into!
In his guesses, Grimm continued to ask the messenger of demon-hunting pact known as ‘Lucian’. “So, do we have to go through here for mission handover between the Dark and Bright Sorcerers?”
The chain of flaming words once again changed their shapes.
In merely a breath, the flaming words formed another chain of words. The demon-hunting sorcerer’s control over the natural forces was at an astounding and unbelievable level.
“Handover by ourselves?”
Grim nodded. Still in deep contemplation, Grimm scanned around the idle hall before leaving the mechanical aircraft and flew toward the Thousand-eyed Carcinus above him.
Nairo, Lou Linman, Saris, and the rest of Grimm’s Dark Demon-hunting Sorcerers’ team all looked toward Grimm.
After landing at the highest protruding point of the Thousand-eyed Carcinus near its brown hair, Grimm spoke calmly. “Our mission is to explore the skeletal tunnels of the Snowthread Burrow and wait for the bright sorcerer team for mission handover. The Bright Sorcerer team will proceed to clear out the most powerful creatures in the deeper regions. Our mission is to explore the long path that follows after that.”
They were all experienced Demon-hunting Sorcerers.
They managed to understand the whole mission flow instantly. They then start deducing the meaning behind the skeletal remains themselves.
In a distance, Third Ghostpepper led his six demon-hunting team members as they kept an eye on Grimm’s team quietly.
They waited for three days.
During that period, another team of demon-hunting Dark Sorcerers flew in from the Surficial Tundra. It was a team of nine Level-1 Dark Demon-hunting Sorcerers led by a Level-2 Dark Sorcerer. They too waited alongside Grimm’s team.
Now, regarding Alxa’s team.
Since Alxa’s team was comprised of four Level-2 Demon-hunting Sorcerers, they commandeered a pair of sorcerers that returned for mission debriefing forcefully and went ahead on their mission. They didn’t care for the rest of the teams’ feelings.
This was also an unspoken rule among the Dark Sorcerers.
Among the idle chatter, the myna and the parrot were fighting endlessly. Grimm was scrutinizing an ice crystal flower that he held in his hand. Lou Linman was conducting simple experiments with an Ancient Harmonics Tadpole.
The rest of the Demon Hunters were doing their own thing.
Right at this moment, a thunderous roar came from one of the team’s soul slaves across the sky.
They raised their heads and looked. Tens of thousands of Soul Slaves and hundreds of Bright Sorcerers were flying over on a grand scale. They were obviously the Bright Sorcerer legion sent out to clear the last few levels of the skeletal tunnels, back for mission debriefing.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Third Ghostpepper’s team, which has waited for quite some time flew toward the bright sorcerers. His dim red elemental eyes were looking at the leader of the Bright Sorcerer legion.
The captain was a Level-2 Bright Sorcerer. His face was stern. He appeared to be nearing his fifties. His eyebrows were graying.
The captain of the Bright Sorcerer looked toward Third Ghostpepper. He was a bit shocked when he saw the Rank-2 Honor Badge on him as well as the Honor Badges on each and every one of his team!
“Heehee, great sorcerer, this is our mission scroll.”
Third Ghostpepper handed in his mission scroll. The captain of the Bright Sorcerers nodded and was about to exchange mission scrolls with him until Grimm interrupted.
“Hold on!”
It was the unmistakable deep voice that came from another side. The captain of the Bright Sorcerers and Third Ghostpepper looked across. It was Grimm and his team, standing on top of the Thousand-eyed Carcinus.
Grimm took out a mission scroll as well.
Grimm led the Thousand-eyed Carcinus to stop beside Third Ghostpepper. He grinned at him. “This mission handover belongs to Grimm’s team.”
“Belongs to Grimm’s team?!”
Other than Third Ghostpepper, Gabriel, Roqhiroo, Kuryak, as well as the rest of the team were protesting furiously. Their glares were filled with coldness and animosity.
Grimm was fearless, however. He clutched at his Sabbatic Goat Staff as he looked at each of the Demon-hunting Sorcerers that were glaring at him. His voice was chilling. “Hehe, that’s right, it belongs to Grimm’s team.”
With the Level-3 Thousand-eyed Carcinus beneath him, Grimm stood in front of the rest of his team members as he boldly laid his claim.
The captain of the Bright Sorcerers was a bit hesitant.
As a Level-2 Bright Sorcerer, he had a clear understanding of the rules among Dark Sorcerers. However, at this moment, there are both sides to consider…
One was a promising team leader that had a Rank-2 Honor Badge, his six team members all had Honor Badges.
The other leader had a Rank-3 honor badge, yet he was standing on top of a terrifying Level-3 creature!
While the captain of the bright sorcerers was hesitating, Grimm grinned coldly as he raised his Sabbatic Goat Staff. He waved the staff around gently. A cold, vicious, yet tranquil aura emerged from the two eye sockets of the goat skull at the top of his staff.
The captain of the Bright Sorcerers, as well as all that were present, were startled. They looked toward Grimm.
That’s…
That’s the genuine aura of Black Isotta!
Without any more reservations, the captain of the Bright Sorcerers, after drawing a long breath, looked toward Grimm. “The mission is yours, Demon Hunter.”
After receiving the mission scroll, Grimm, who was standing on top of the Thousand-eyed Carcinus grinned coldly. Beneath his Mask of Truth, he was looking down smugly at Third Ghostpepper and his team members, who were glaring at him furiously. He wasn’t scared of them as he left with a cold smile across his face.