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With the half-machine acolyte Atlas' ability, coupled with Chumo's reconnaissance skill, the Abyss nest interior was quickly mapped out.

Of the half a dozen tunnels within the nest, only two lead to the main chamber hidden 20 miles deep underground, while the other four actually lead to a dead end. If it wasn't for Atlas' ability, the six of them would have gotten lost in the nest, wasting their time searching for the true path.

"Wow! It spread so far underground!" Klea exclaimed as she scanned the image Atlas projected.

Not only was it able to sense their rough location, Chumo's [Eye of the Raven] also perceived the number of Abyss creatures residing within the nest. He sensed that there were around five thousand of stage 1, a few hundreds of stage 2 as well as dozens of stage 3, and about half a dozen stage 4 Abyss creatures.

He didn't detect any stage 5 Abyss creature, unless the latter for some reason had the ability to hide its existence.

"So, how do you want to do this?" asked Annara as she looked at Emery.

Knowing the number and the strength of the Abyss creatures in the nest, unless there was indeed a stage 5 Abyss creature hidden inside, there really wasn't much for the group to worry about. In fact, by the standard of combat prowess they possessed, it was only a matter of how long it would take to clear it.

At this, Klea quickly voiced her suggestion. "Let's make two teams and see who reaches the main chamber first!"

Her idea, unexpectedly, received a sound agreement from the red-haired girl. The latter looked excited.

Emery also had no objection to the idea, as he wanted to check how challenging this place was. On top of that, clearing both tunnels meant more Abyss creatures being killed, which meant more points.

Still, he insisted that no one entered the main chamber before they grouped up again. All part of what he wanted to check and also in the case of finding a hidden stage 5 Abyss creature. He didn't want to see his companions injured, or worse, lose their lives.

"I choose Emery first!" said Klea excitedly while hugging Emery's arm. It took him a moment to realize that she meant picking the team.

Seeing this blatant display of affection, Annara just rolled her eyes and said, "Alright. Inside there, the cyborg is much more useful anyway."

"Then… I choose Chumo next" said Klea, thinking that since the other side had picked the one with the map of the Abyss nest, then she would need Chumo's reconnaissance ability to compare.

Through all of this, the boys seemed to have no intention to voice their opinions and just follow the two girl's words readily. Well, except the gladiator champion Thrax who was quite annoyed when he saw that he was picked last.

"Huh! You will later regret not choosing me!" Thrax said while looking at Klea when she chose Chumo. It was clear to see that he was complaining.

As he was walking towards Annara and Atlas, however, the red-haired girl turned to Klea and said, "You can have him. Two of us is enough."

"#^&@%& Fuck!!"

Thrax got angry, but had no place to vent as Annara already dashed towards the Abyss nest's entrance with Atlas following right behind her. The Thracian felt like he wanted to pluck all the hairs he had to shout his frustration out loud.

"Arrrgghhh! Such an insult to the Immortal Gladiator!!"

The entire situation, or rather, farce gave Emery a slight chuckle. On the other hand, Klea quickly grabbed Thrax's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you'll be happier with us.. Plus, this way we can definitely win."

"That's damn right!!"

Thrax looked like he was on fire as he darted towards the nest. Seeing this, Emery just shook his head wryly and hoped that this friend of his wouldn't be too reckless and hurt himself in the process.

Splat! Splat!

Blood splattered everywhere inside the gloomy tunnel, adding a hint of color to the somber atmosphere. From behind, Emery could see how fierce Thrax really was now and how those stage 1 to stage 3 Abyss creatures died in his hands without being able to do anything.

The huge, Tier 5 dark red glaives that Thrax won from the Gladiator Championship gave off a faint light in the dim tunnel, as he continued his slaughter of Abyss creatures in the realm of close combat.

[Lurker]

[Stage 2 Abyss creature]

[Battle power 40]

[Roach]

[Stage 3 Abyss creature]

[Battle power 90]

All the Abyss creatures they encountered this time were like a series of bugs with multiple legs and sharp claws, antennas, and stingers. They were extremely horrible to look at.

The ones named Lurker were twice as large as Crawler, and were capable of spitting corrosive liquids. Emery watched as the liquid they released landed on the ground of the tunnel and created a small, still bubbling crater.

The Roach, on the other hand, was covered in a dark carapace which had a very strong defensive capability, comparable to Tier 3 artifact. Moreover, it had a regenerative factor that was quiet overwhelming.

The stage 3 Abyss creatures would need some extra work to be killed, but there weren't any significant problems for this group of elite acolytes.

Faint layer of blazing aura swiftly covered Thrax's entire body as he used his [Immortal Gate - stage 6].

[Battle power 122 (186)]

Feeling the strength coursing through his body, Thrax swiftly brandished his gauntlet that was enveloped in flames thanks to [Fire Infusion] spell and began to wreak havoc among the horde of Abyss creatures.

To Emery's surprise, as they walked deeper, the tunnel became wider and there were several small chambers that were filled with Abyss creatures.

Seeing this, Emery decided to take action as well. He began casting [Seed Bomb] and threw it into the chamber, resulting in the successive deaths of the Abyss creatures that lived within. Then, he cast [Mineralized Warrior].

10 huge humanoid figures made of stones emerged from the ground and Emery swiftly ordered them to clash with the Abyss creatures. He wanted to see how his summon would compare to these creatures.

A few minutes later, Emery could be seen with a satisfied expression on his face. It turned out that his Mineralized Warriors were able to withstand the stage 2 Abyss creature Lurker's corrosive spit with ease, and their swords were sharp enough to cut through the stage 3 Abyss creature Roach.

With this result, Emery decided to create 10 more Mineralized Warriors to speed up their clearing speed.

"Ah! I finally get to see your new toy!" Klea said when she saw Emery create the Mineralized Warrior. At the same time, she also cast [Chain Lightning] and blasted all the incoming Abyss creatures into smithereens.

Zap zap zap!

Chumo, who was at the back, didn't stay still either. He created 10 [Shadow Clone] of himself, and suddenly, it seemed as if a whole squad of thirty were fighting the Abyss creatures.

As they continued to walk deeper into the tunnel, more and more Abyss creatures attacked them with bloodlust. Seeing the number approaching them, Klea suddenly floated in midair and began to cast her Tier 5 spell [Cyclone].

The all-powerful spell that she had used during the Magus Game made its appearance again, and within seconds, dozens of Crawlers and Lurkers were destroyed into pieces and scattered everywhere.

What surprised Emery was that even after unleashing such a taxing spell, Klea didn't look tired at all - unlike before. In fact, she even shouted energetically at Chumo.

"Chumo, which way leads to the main chamber? We have to hurry!"

To be continued