novelraw Chapter 97 : The Great Terror Within the Labyrinth
Chapter 97 : The Great Terror Within the Labyrinth
Chapter 97: The Great Terror Within the Labyrinth
“Over there—drive them that way and deal with them!”
The mercenaries ran back and forth through the labyrinth’s tunnels, using torches to herd the Bloodsucking Mosquito Bats toward narrow passages where net traps had been set up.
Others wielded hunting forks, lunging to kill Giant Rats that scurried about wildly.
Slimes only needed to be sprinkled with salt to be temporarily incapacitated, after which they could be scooped into clay jars.
The Living Vines growing in the soil had to be bound with ropes to restrain their incessantly writhing tendrils, then dug out roots and all—
The vast majority of Magical Beasts present in this mine labyrinth were essentially harmless First-Level Magical Beasts.
As long as manpower and equipment were sufficient, dealing with them posed little difficulty.
Leon listened to the surrounding commotion as he led Rena, Simon, and the others, along with the Demonic Wolf that Rena controlled, straight toward the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Upon reaching the end marked on the mining map, that open space once again appeared before them.
Simon stood at the front with his subordinates, spreading out slightly so that the torches in their hands could illuminate more of the area.
Leon swept his gaze across the surroundings.
This time, the visible range was far greater.
Weeds grew wildly across the ground, yet the terrain was unusually flat.
Many shattered stone bricks were embedded in the soil.
There was no doubt that this had once been an area constructed by human hands.
Leon nodded to Rena, and the two each took out a flask from their clothes.
Inside the flasks were dark-red liquids—blood samples they had each drawn from themselves in advance.
Leon first poured his blood into a prepared basin.
Rena then added a small amount of anticoagulant extracted from a Head-Hunting Rabbit, thoroughly mixed it, poured in her own blood, and finally added Mummy Powder made from Dried Corpses.
By this point, the Demonic Wolf Pack Alpha following beside them had already begun to grow restless.
When Rena opened a test tube containing Mana, a look of yearning burst forth once more from the hollows of the wolf’s eyes.
“Sit,” Rena commanded the Pack Alpha.
The wolf obeyed and sat down, though saliva still streamed uncontrollably from the corner of its mouth.
Rena poured the Mana into the basin.
Leon then placed a Lantern nearby and immediately ordered, “Alright—retreat into the tunnel at once!!”
Everyone withdrew in the direction they had come from, following Leon.
Only the Demonic Wolf Pack Alpha remained seated where it was, staring longingly at the basin filled with mixed blood and Bait Agent.
“Come back!” Rena commanded again.
Only then did the Pack Alpha reluctantly follow the others, moving away from the basin.
They retreated only fifty to sixty meters when faint rustling sounds arose from the deep space of the labyrinth.
Soon after, dots of ghostly green light appeared in the darkness beyond.
The remaining labyrinth space within the mountain was extremely limited.
Once the Bait Agent was placed, the scent of blood and the high concentration of Mana quickly attracted the wolf pack that had made this place its nest.
The Lantern Leon had left behind cast a pool of light.
As those will-o’-the-wisp-like eyes drew closer, the silhouettes of Demonic Wolves emerged one after another along the edge of the light—large and small, a total of nine Demonic Wolves.
The mercenaries present all held their breath.
If these wolves were to launch a coordinated attack, casualties would be inevitable.
Fortunately, the wolves’ attention was not on them at all.
Every Demonic Wolf was staring at the basin of blood, saliva dripping incessantly from their mouths.
Suddenly, two Demonic Wolves charged toward the basin.
Like a signal, all the others surged forward as well,
scrambling to bury their heads in the basin and lap up the blood within, like ants discovering honey.
The Demonic Wolf Pack Alpha that had retreated with Leon and the others was also coiled to strike.
It bared its fangs at the pack, seemingly displeased that wolves of lower status were fighting over what it had set its sights on.
Yet under Rena’s control, it remained stationed obediently in place.
For a mere few hundred milliliters of liquid, the Demonic Wolves went mad with desire, and the scene quickly devolved into a vicious struggle.
Even with the Pack Alpha present, they could not resist the temptation of the Bait Agent.
Its absence caused the pack’s order to further collapse.
To fight over the blood, they began tearing into one another—larger wolves drove off smaller ones, while the smaller wolves slipped back in during the chaos to secretly lick the blood.
The basin was soon knocked over.
The little remaining liquid spilled onto the ground, and the wolves frantically licked at the earth, as if possessed.
Leon observed carefully.
The scene was chaotic, but in the end, nearly all of the wolves had consumed the blood they had placed in the basin.
It was about time to try.
Leon glanced at Rena.
With a single look, she understood.
She placed her fingers in her mouth and began to blow a clear, melodious Whistled Signal.
When she needed to control a large number of Magical Beasts, this kind of whistle served as assistance.
The gentle, simple rhythm echoed through the space.
The Demonic Wolves that heard it began to feel a hazy drowsiness.
Rena activated her Blood Pact Blessing, using the blood the wolves had ingested from her as a medium, causing all the wolves to resonate with the Mana she was circulating.
However, the wolves quickly broke free from the drowsiness.
For Rena, controlling even a single Demonic Wolf was already a strain.
Attempting to control so many at once was simply impossible.
The pack soon realized that something was wrong with the source of the sound and swiftly turned their attention toward the group.
The mercenaries tensed, drawing their weapons one after another.
Rena’s whistling suddenly incorporated a sharp, urgent note.
The Pack Alpha seemed to be instantly activated by the sound—it leapt forward several meters, positioning itself before the group and letting out a low growl at the pack.
With the former leader blocking their way, the restless wolves hesitated at once.
The Pack Alpha’s physique was a full size larger than the others.
This was the growth advantage accumulated over years of having first claim to prey.
For the other wolves to replace it, they would basically have to wait until it grew old and weak.
At that moment, Leon activated Cursed Blood against the wolves.
In an instant, anguished howls filled the air.
All the Demonic Wolves except the Pack Alpha began convulsing in pain, purple smoke spilling from their throats.
Leon only tormented them briefly before suppressing the ability.
Rena then continued blowing the whistle, while also having the Pack Alpha emit an intimidating roar to suppress the pack’s will.
After a single round of this ordeal, more than half of the wolves tucked their tails between their legs, lowered their heads, and chose submission.
Once the thought of surrender emerged, they were quickly hypnotized by Rena’s whistle, their eyes turning vacant as they stood motionless.
Four sturdier Demonic Wolves were still struggling, trying to snarl at Rena behind the Pack Alpha.
Seeing this, the Pack Alpha stepped forward and roared angrily, forcing them to retreat again.
Leon activated Cursed Blood once more, and the wolves collapsed to the ground, convulsing in agony.
After the second round, the remaining four could no longer hold out.
They finally abandoned resistance, allowing Rena’s whistle to invade their consciousness.
At last, all the Demonic Wolves completely settled under the whistle’s influence, motionless, like lifelike statues.
Rena stopped whistling and tried issuing a command: “Sit.”
The Pack Alpha and five Demonic Wolves sat down as ordered.
The remaining four seemed not to hear her.
After some thought, Rena tried having the Pack Alpha emit a low growl and issued the command again: “Sit!”
This time, all the wolves sat down together.
By dispersing the power of the Blood Pact across so many wolves, her degree of control inevitably weakened.
However, as long as she focused most of her attention on the repeatedly trained Pack Alpha, she could rely on the wolves’ social structure and the Pack Alpha’s intimidation to assist her in controlling the entire pack.
“Good—success!” Leon finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Simon and the others clicked their tongues in amazement, their gazes toward Rena now carrying a hint of reverence.
Thanks to this Witch’s power, they had conquered a full ten Demonic Wolves without firing a single shot.
If they had truly tried to force their way through the labyrinth by brute strength, who knew how many would have died.
“Mr. Fenrir, should we move the cages in?” Simon asked Leon for instructions.
He could tell that without the Witch, these wolves would likely revert to their wild nature.
To be safe, it would be best to lock them up in cages.
“We can move the cages in first, but don’t rush to confine the wolves. The depths haven’t been fully explored yet—we don’t know what else might be inside,” Leon said.
Having subdued the wolf pack, they now possessed a combat force even stronger than this mercenary unit.
If there were further dangers deeper inside, these wolves would likely prove useful.
“Leave three people here to set up a Fire Pit. Go check on the progress of the others—if they’re about done, call some people in to help,” Leon began assigning tasks.
“Yes,” Simon and the others responded, immediately moving into action.
“Deploy the Demonic Wolves on the outer perimeter. You stand at the tunnel entrance, somewhere you can withdraw at any time,” Leon quietly instructed Rena.
Rena nodded obediently, manipulating the wolves into a defensive formation around the area.
At the same time, Simon’s remaining men began stacking the firewood they had brought into tall fire pit platforms.
To illuminate this vast underground space, they would need plenty of light.
After some time passed, the mercenaries who had finished clearing out the low-level Magical Beasts gathered here one after another.
Every person who saw the wolf pack under Rena’s control was astonished.
Some curious mercenaries even tried to approach and touch the wolves, only to be so frightened by a single twitch of a wolf’s nose that they fell to the ground, provoking a burst of laughter from the others.
“Enough fooling around—get to work,” Leon urged the mercenaries back into action.
They could not let their guard down until the labyrinth exploration was complete.
Soon, new fire pit platforms were erected and lit.
The blazing flames drove away the darkness, finally allowing everyone to glimpse the overall form of this ruin within the mountain.
Judging from the size of the space, nearly half of the interior of this mine was hollowed out.
The shape of the enormous cavern was very uniform, with an arched ceiling.
The highest point in the center reached a full twenty meters.
Amid the rampant weeds and shrubs, fragments of ruined walls were scattered here and there.
This place had clearly once held man-made structures, but something had destroyed them all.
In the center was a pool of water that looked bottomless, seemingly connected to underground water veins.
There were many signs of Demonic Wolf activity here.
One enormous pit was filled with the bones of their leftovers.
Their main food sources were Wild Goats that entered the cavern in search of grass and rock salt, as well as the Giant Rats native to the labyrinth.
There was also plenty of their feces scattered in the grass.
One mercenary stepped on it and immediately cursed aloud.
Aside from the ten Demonic Wolves they had brought under control, there seemed to be no others present.
“Mr. Fenrir, we’ve found something!!” a mercenary shouted loudly from the deepest part.
Leon turned at the call.
The mercenaries’ torches illuminated a wall standing at the very depths of the labyrinth—ruined yet still majestic.
The relief carvings upon it were no longer discernible, but the outlines of doors and windows could still be vaguely made out.
Part of the great door’s edge looked as though it had been deliberately smashed open, creating a massive breach.
Everyone was surprised.
To think there was actually a hall here—and one that looked incredibly ancient!
Just what was the origin of this labyrinth?
As Leon continued his careful observation, one of the young mercenaries who had first discovered the hall could no longer restrain himself.
He volunteered eagerly, raising his torch as he walked inside.
“I’ll go in and take a look first!”
Entering first to scout was certainly risky, but if he discovered gold, silver, or valuable antiques, the first person inside would have a chance to secretly pocket some.
This was an opportunity to get rich!
“Hey!!” the captain responsible for this mercenary shouted harshly, trying to stop him.
At this moment, Leon raised his hand to halt him, allowing the mercenary to go in.
He also told the others, “Move a bit farther away from here.”
He lowered his gaze to the ground.
Everywhere around was evidence of Demonic Wolf activity—footprints, remnants of prey, and feces and urine used to mark territory.
Yet the large area around the hall’s entrance was covered only in overgrown weeds, completely devoid of wolf activity.
There was hardly even a trace of the usual acrid smell of urine.
The wolves dwelled here, yet seemed unwilling to approach this hall.
Leon faintly sensed that something was wrong.
Exploring the labyrinth was ultimately unavoidable.
Since someone was willing to volunteer as a scout, Leon was more than happy to accept.
He led the others far back and waited.
After more than ten minutes, a shrill scream suddenly rang out from within.
Everyone was startled.
Just as the mercenary’s captain opened his mouth to shout, a terrifying roar erupted from inside, completely drowning out his voice.