Shattered Star Sea, Crystal Cave on Naika Island.

The main body of the cave is located at a depth of 300 meters, and the height of the layers inside is close to 300 meters.

Horizontally reaching a depth of several kilometers, the terrain is complex and the environment is harsh, and there are huge glowing crystal pillars everywhere. There are even sharp white crystal clusters in many places, and there is no place to put your feet.

However, the giant crystals that are invaluable to others, including the abundant silver and lead ore associated with the nearby mines, are not cared for at all.

Only the flowing water in the cave full of countless germs is the real treasure in the heart of the cave owner!

Tick... Tick...

At the deepest point of the crystal cave, close to a kilometer, is an active lava field.

The surging heat will evaporate the water in the cave at any time, and then re-condense into a liquid state at a relatively low temperature above the head of the cave and slowly drip down.

And who would have thought that as this crystal mine gradually grows and takes shape, the water here has actually been circulating for a full 500,000 years.

And it is precisely because of the existence of these water droplets that those breathtaking giant crystal pillars with a length of more than ten meters have been created, and they have also created a hotbed of germs!

However, not all places in the cave are extremely harsh.

The upper layer of the cascading crystal cave is in a grotto that is well ventilated to the outside world and does not have many crystal clusters. There are stone desks, experimental instruments, bookshelves, cabinets, and sample banks with sufficient antiseptic treatment.

Protective sorcery has also been applied to ensure that germ-infested air does not interact with the place. This is because even for the "Virus Epidemic School", which specializes in the study of various germs, the unpredictable impact of miscellaneous bacterial contamination on the experiment is catastrophic.

At this time.

The "mushroom people" stationed on Naika Island are making a sample of the fungus here, and the raw materials include: fungal conidia, sand, glass test tubes, desiccant...

The purpose is to ensure that the strain can be dormant for a long time, not to die, not to grow, not to pollute, not to reduce or lose its excellent properties, and then to prolong the use time.

It's no secret that these tiny microorganisms are too susceptible to genetic variation.

Normally, the longest preservation time of the strain is the "freeze-drying preservation method", in which the bacterial solution and skimmed milk powder are mixed with lyophilized vacuum and stored in a dry environment at -80 °C.

Different strains will have their own preservation methods that are most suitable, and there are many variations.

But in this era when experimental medicine was just in its infancy, it was far from that condition.

The "Virus Disease School" now generally adopts a relatively simple "dry sand soil preservation method", which can be stored below 4°C, but this method is not suitable for all strains.

So, while the work of preserving the specimen has been underway since the discovery of this place, the natural treasure trove in the crystal cave beneath the laboratory is still precious to them.

Rustle...

In front of the "mushroom man" that looks like a giant mushroom, as if grasped by an invisible hand, various materials automatically float up, and a sample that can be preserved for 18-20 years is prepared in a few breaths like a cloud of peers.

【Gifted Spells: Powerful Tentacles】

After the "mushroom man" completed the transformation of himself ahead of everyone in the school, every fungal cell was a neuron of his, his brain, and his body.

It also gave him an incredibly powerful and unpredictable psychic power, and with the spore clouds that permeated the cave and the entire island outside, he could easily see everything in this space.

Suddenly.

The specimen froze in the air, and the face of the "mushroom man", which had eyes and mouth but no practical use, also changed slightly, showing the sudden waves in his heart.

"Someone came, not the three of them, not the crows... It's a complete stranger!"

As if remembering something, the "mushroom man" quickly turned around.

When I came to a stone cupboard, I opened it and saw that even the face that was superficial changed color in an instant:

"The symbiotic strains of the 'living corpse' and the 'poisonous wolf' are dead!

Who the hell killed them on their mission?!"

Although the expression on that face was simple, the extreme mood swings caused golden psychic sparks to flicker around his body, and even the glass containers on the test bench were shattered one by one.

Click! click...

The death of his companion itself was nothing, but the resulting problems such as the school's reduced power, the failure of the plan of action, and the delay in the establishment of the witchcraft system were unbearable.

After all, he was the one who first received the knowledge given by the evil alchemist and proposed the establishment of the "Poison Epidemic School". A group of mature and senior wizards who relied on them lost two-thirds at once, which was bound to greatly delay his promotion path.

Even as a master of psychic power, the "mushroom man" almost couldn't control his emotions.

Collecting important samples and materials from the laboratory into the "magic bag" hidden in his body, his body floated under the effect of psychic power, and flew towards the exit of the cave in anger.

Whoosh –

And at this moment, the guests he had just sensed in the [Spore Cloud Telepathy] had already arrived at the door of the crystal cave.

Whoa...

Following a group of seagulls that were immune to physical damage after being spiritualized, four figures wearing bird's beak masks and leather coats jumped down one after another along the tunnel at the entrance of the cave that was more than 300 meters long.

This is not a group of "crow people", but Evan and his party.

For Aven, who possessed knowledge of activating aura and potions, the beak mask was not difficult to make.

Masks made of wood with crystal eyes, and filters in the shape of beaks filled with charcoal and herbs that detoxify and kill bacteria, the final product is of much better quality than those equipped by the Raven troops.

With the corresponding geographical knowledge in his head, Evan knew that the biggest problem he would face might be the foul, hot, and germ-filled air of the crystal cave, and he had prepared for it in advance.

Before.

After finding this place called Naika Island on the nautical chart, Evan had already dispatched seagulls to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance as soon as possible.

And at this time, he was very glad that he had made the thunderbird into a living animal skin.

You must know that when the Silver War was launched for the Potosi Islands, it took two months to come to the Golden Sea from the Vice-King of Neo-Hyrius to support the quasi-legendary battleship "Commander Konoshi".

If you drive the "Cape Storm" around Cape Freud, the southernmost point of the New World, and go around a little bit along the coastline of the mainland.

Although the time taken is definitely much shorter than that of the "Commander of the Guards", the daylily is completely cold, and even if you get the original strain and rush back, you can only face a corpse all over the field.

With a flight speed of 900 km/h, it only took six hours to fly from the southern end of Liudalianhu to Naika Island on the west side of the Balboa Isthmus, on the Broken Star Sea!

While Evan was hurrying, the seagulls in the air did not stop monitoring the island for a moment, and easily found the entrance to the crystal mine.

When the samples of the previous [Super Cyst Fungus] arrived in Aiwen's hands, I don't know how many generations had been cultivated in the middle, and how many hosts had gone through, and Milan found nothing when he used them for divination.

But now, based on the information they got from those two "poisoners" before, they have determined that the original strain of the [cyst fungus] is in the depths of this crystal cave!

Merely.

Because he was afraid of startling the snake, he did not send seagulls to the vicinity to investigate, so he did not find any trace of the two remaining four people who had left the "Vesalius School": Pice Lofel and Heywood Clyder.

However, from the bodies of the "living corpses" and "poisonous wolves", Evan sensed that the information given by Dr. Taylor was outdated.

After combining the knowledge of several schools of thought, and then integrating it into their own system with the "Introduction to Pathogens" as the core, they have further developed a unique system of witchcraft.

Especially when playing on the opponent's home turf, their quality should definitely not be underestimated.

However, after entering the interior of the crystal cave, the spirited seabirds under Aiwen's command completely dispersed to search for traces of enemies and primitive strains.

"Hah, two gentlemen, two ladies, a total of four ill-intentioned guests, did you kill the 'living corpse' and the 'poisonous wolf'?"

It seemed that a gentleman's habit of using honorifics for this group of villains, but a voice with a clear hint of anger rose from the hearts of the four of them.

The loss of human eyes, ears, and noses allows the "mushroom people" to see more of the essence of things, whether they are wearing gas masks or not.

And from his unique senses, he made a judgment on the nature of the power possessed by Aven and his party, Aven is fiery and domineering, Milan is distant and mysterious, Olivia is dazzling, and Apusua is wild and untamable.

And the truth of the matter is also easy to reason, not long after the two members were killed, there were evil guests who came to the door, if there was no connection between them, he would not believe it.

I even knew that this was most likely the result of serving Miss Raven, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly, and the second phase of the plan had just begun.

The four of them looked back and saw that a mushroom that was not much different from the outside world except for its size was standing quietly behind their group.

The white body is covered with a gorgeous red and yellow umbrella cover, which is highly toxic at a glance!

The moment they turned back, the giant mushroom had already launched an attack on them at the first time.

Poof-

The moment the fleshy canopy on top of his head expanded and contracted, a large red spore cloud had been ejected, and it immediately turned into a large flame when it encountered the air.

【Sorcery: Flame Spore】

The already foul air in the crystal cave seems to be burned out, and even the surface of the crystal with a melting point of 1700 °C has begun to melt.

"Get out of the way!"

I didn't expect that it would be my own side that was at a disadvantage in this information and intelligence war.

The sudden attack forced the four people who had just entered the cave to scatter in a hurry to dodge before they had time to think about the meaning of his words.

At the same time, another black-green poisonous cloud was already spreading rapidly through the cavern.

【Sorcery: Deadly Poison Cloud】

The battle was just the beginning, and it immediately reached a climax.