Underneath the mines of the second layer are the ruins that make up the third layer.

When Lyonse was still a mining town, the villagers dug too deep and dug out the entrance, freeing the demon Bailey and the cannibalistic and fallen Moroks who worshipped him. They quickly slaughtered the miners and turned the area into the evil dungeon it is today.

When Tai arrived in the city, his army captured Bailey, slaughtered the worshippers of the demons, groomed them as workers, and claimed the upper echelons for their own use. Due to the easy accessibility of Alcaveste in the mines, the necromancer never bothered to explore the ruins outside of the closest place to him.

Until today.

"So, you're new here?" Hagen asked Laufey as he led Tye and his elite through a stone hall. Two rows of stone pillars support the ceiling of the huge room, and the walls are decorated with original, half-erased mosaics. The ghost will provide light in Tai's work. "Pretty little things."

"Is it enough to make your head fall?" The black elf replied.

"Words are also very vicious, I already like you." "I'm Hagen. It was Sbuke who was silent and stoic, and Duke who was rotten. ”

"To a living man, this is the Duke." The zombies taunt Laufey. "You'd better respect your elders."

"Of course, sir." Laufey replied, unmoved. Duke hissed in reply, but Tay glanced at them and told them to shut up. Spock trembled in the rearguard, and the sight of the hall disturbed him. He had been one of the mummies of the catacombs before his resurrection, and returning to his "birthplace" must have bothered him.

"Here, chief," said Hagan, as they reached the T-shaped end of the hall; In front of them stood a large stone wall with two small corridors on each side. Durahan touched the six stones that make up the structure in order.

The wall vanished instantly, revealing a circular room about twenty feet in diameter, the floor covered with runes, ancient hieroglyphs, and a circle of incantations forming a large diagram around a heavy stone. Sixteen humanoid robots with noseless, scrawny, pig-faced faces glanced at the newcomers, surrounded by man-eating ghouls and skeleton warriors.

Tai had long suspected that the underground ruins were some kind of place of worship because of the large number of hidden rooms, tombs, and walls inside. Seeing that stone just confirmed his thoughts. "How did you know it existed?" He asked Hagen.

"Remember those adventurers who accidentally teleported over a few days ago?"

nodded his head.

"I don't know how they ended up finding the teleporter, I think they must have been chasing something in the forest before they found the hidden entrance. So I had the ghouls among us track down the scent of the living, and they smelled these," Black Root pointed at the orc, who winced, "the little guy behind the wall. After some trial and error, we opened the way. ”

The wizard, dressed in robes and masked, walked up to the orc, who looked up at him in horror. They must have been hiding in that place for some time, and looked apparently malnourished and hungry; Glancing at the nearby bones, Tye knew that they had even eaten their own corpses.

"I can keep them," Laufey asked. "My hound needs chew toys."

"I said we're going to arrest them, whether they're alive or dead," Hagen replied, more pragmatic.

Tai recognized some of the tribal marks on the orc's skin and guessed that they were survivors of a shamanic commando who had been wiped out by the Academy. "'Who is your leader?' Wizards asked them in their native language.

The group looked at one of the females, who was a little larger than the others. Judging by her more elaborate tattoos, cloak, and bone wand, she is at least a spellcaster, if not a shaman. "I'm a 'resigned to fate' bone-eater." Second only to shamans. ”

There is no god here. Not even the filthy ancestors worshipped by the orcs. "'I'm a malicious attacker.'" Tye translated his wizarding name in the ancient elven language, using magic to cement his dominance. "'Are you after power? Do you want to live forever?'"

The goblin seemed to have a hard time understanding the question before answering. "Yes. You mighty elf. You are strong. ”

"'I can make you stronger, stronger than the humans who hunted you here,'" Tye said. "There will be pain, but there will be strength and revenge. I can also make sure you never go hungry again. ’”

"What's the price?"

"You serve."

Goblins had no choice but to rant at the rest of her tribe. They all knelt before their new masters. "Feed them." Tye told his undead servant. "Then take them to my lab for surgery."

Then he turned his attention to the stele. An oppressive chill leaked out of the stone, and Tae confirmed that it was a seal after casting [Super Magic Scan]. The shackles of magic date back thousands of years, and it has slowly been weakened over time.

"The Hidden City." Laufey said as he read the runes. "The hall of the unscrupulous."

"Can you understand the runes?" Tay asked, a little nervous. The knowledge of runes is a very kept secret, known only to specific professions, and even the necromancer himself has only partially opened it.

Laufey replied with an old, powerful word, and the bound circles lit up the room. A paranoid duke immediately drew his sword and tried to kill the elf, but Tye stopped him with a gesture.

The stele trembled, but refused to get out of the way.

The Black Elf shook his head in disappointment. "I couldn't open the seal myself," she admitted. "But my father can."

Aside from the fact that he can't leave the realm he's meant to go to, Tay will never deal with a creature he can't let go of.

The seal was carefully examined, confirming the elf's words. Only the most powerful mages can unlock the seal by uttering ancient words of power, and Tai needs to level up at least thirty more levels to do so.

"You never wondered who built these ruins?" Laufey asked curiously. "Why?"

"No," Tay replied bluntly. "I have no interest in revisiting the past unless it helps me shape the future."

However, despite the seal's strength, it has a small hole in its magical defense system due to its lack of maintenance. He can now take advantage of this opportunity. "Protect my body." Tay commanded as he sat down in front of the stele. "I'm going to be away for a while."

"Pray?" Laufey pondered.

Tai didn't give her an answer, making her look noble. "(Astral projection)."

At the beckoning of his incantation, his dark soul emerged from the immortal coil, a pitch-black, serpentine cloud of darkness that only the undead could see. Hagen immediately sprang into action to protect his master's body, and Tye's soul slipped through a small gap in the stele.

Necromancers know it's dangerous. His soul was reduced to its original nature, unable to cast spells in his astral form, or even to use the powers of ghosts. He was helpless, but that helplessness made the magical defense system ignore him.

As his floating soul crosses the stone tablet, Tay finds himself on a dark staircase that leads to the dark abyss.

The descent seemed to last for hours, and perhaps it did. Eventually, however, the narrow walls opened, revealing something unbelievable.

Amazing stuff.

The staircase leads to a huge cave, which is so large that it can accommodate the entire Lyonis and its surrounding countryside. Veins of stone alkali covered its walls, emitting a faint crimson glow.

A natural plateau appears in the center of the cave, connected to the world above by a staircase. Above it, a large black stone wall stood, and a gap revealed the city inside.

At the same time, deep beneath their feet, a sea of purple mist encircles the plateau, an unnatural veil separating the living and the dead. Huge, blackened roots stick out of the fog and head deep into the plateau.

The root body of the World Tree.

Somehow, one glance at the fog made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't figure out why. As Tay floats down the stairs towards the entrance to the city, the necromancer finally receives a message from the system itself.

You have entered: [Nast.]

o

d］．

He had never heard of it.

Judging by the scale, the necromancer guessed that it was a huge city, older than the human tombs above. However, the architectural style is neither suitable for Jotu

Heim's Frost Sons are also not suitable for their hard-working, enthusiastic Muspelheim cousins. Maybe it was built by the Proto-Titan or a sect from either realm.

The ghost passed through the gap and into the city's massive, gravel-covered streets, where the buildings were unlike anything Tye had ever seen. The rectangular black stone blocks blend in with the walls and appear to make up the houses, but the team only found a few of them. In fact, after passing through the second row of protective walls, the only striking structure is a huge cathedral in the center: a huge, colossal temple made of black stone and black metal, dwarfed even by the Temple of Odin above.

In any case, the inhabitants apparently worship snakes. From the statue of a snake coiled around a pillar to the fangs on a defensive wall, there are many details about the city that remind the necromancer of reptiles. Calcified fossils of giants are often left nearby, remnants of people who previously inhabited Nastrand

THOMB !

When the necromancer's spirit reached a large square in front of the cathedral gates, a strong rumble echoed through the streets. A 40-foot-tall black metal giant walked up to him, and he had guarded the building for centuries. The machine looks like a knight in armor carved out of dark steel, wielding a large sword. Its enclosed helmet emits toxic gases.

An indestructible puppet. 60 levels.

A soulless robot that resists all magic below the fourth floor, possesses the strength of a giant and a razor-sharp blade that can cut through steel. They have neither fear nor remorse, only responsibility. A very strong guard against robbers, adventurers, and even noble knights.

One of them was terrifying, but Tay noticed that there were two more people standing on either side of the cathedral, like vigilant sentinels unbound by time. Together, with the exception of the most formidable adventurers, they form a formidable defense.

Thankfully, the giant walked past him and continued his ancient, never-ending patrol.

The soul approached the church and was immediately turned away by an invisible obstacle; A second perfect seal encloses the entire building, preventing anything from passing through. Unlike the one above, this particular magical defense has stood the test of time. Its design is more complex and layered.

What reason is there to justify so many magical defenses? What kind of ancient demons are sleeping in these walls?

"I feel you, my wayward slave."

A familiar woman's voice whispered to his soul, haughty, cold, majestic.

An ancient, primal fear buried decades ago awakened in Tae's mind as he could feel the overwhelming pressure of the goddess gazing at him.

"I smell your fear...... And the stench of Midgard above...... I feel ......"

Tai immediately canceled his [Astral Projection] and his soul immediately bounced back into his body. The chill of Helheim was gone, and its goddess could no longer trace the location of his soul.

"Chief?" When Laufey looked at him in confusion, Hagen sounded worried. "Boss, what's wrong?"

The necromancer glanced at his fingers, trembling with fear.

"Chief?"

"Hello." Tai replied, and the undead present froze in place. "She almost found me."

For the next few hours, Tay immersed himself in his research and never left his alchemist lab.

Trapped in a glass jar, suspended in an alchemical liquid, Bo

eate

Began to change color, and her skin slowly turned silver with black spots on it. The experiment is progressing well; The necromancer believed that he could enhance the physiology of the elves and allow them to adapt to his needs within a few days. Then his gaze turned to the white rats in the cage, which looked at their master with crimson eyes. His future acquaintance.

Kumagen's footsteps interrupted him. "We've taken control of all three levels." Loyal Durahan said, handing him a scroll. "I drew a complete map, crossed out where I could set traps and ambushes."

Ankou grabs the papers, but finds himself unable to concentrate on the details, his mind haunted by other things.

"Chief? If you're looking for someone to talk to, I'm always there for you......"

"I should have known that letting go of all my magical protection and revealing my naked soul would attract Haier's attention." Tay replied. "It's not going to happen again."

"She hasn't forgotten," Hagen shrugged. "How long has it been since we saw each other?" Thirty years?"

“29”。 Twenty-nine years ago, Tye succeeded in bringing their souls out of their trapped Helheim. For twenty-nine years, they escaped from the iron fist of that savage goddess. Now that she knew he was in Midgard, he had to be more careful around the church above.

"We escaped her once, and we can run again." The Headless Horseman tried to cheer his courtiers up. "Anyway, if she comes to take your head, my weapon is yours."

"Thank you, my friend." "But for me, the goddess is more important than removing that seal."

The sheer abundance of alkali there justified breaking the seal, but the presence of Igdrasigen also provided an opportunity. They are the pillars of the universe itself, and extracting their blood of life helps him in his research.

Since he didn't have the level needed to unlock the seal by the standard method, he had to work on a more ...... Unorthodox approach.

Necromancers will avoid breaking the guards around the cathedral. Tay has a feeling that no matter what's inside, it's more trouble than it's worth.

Ghost strings go through a wall. "Boss, you have an emergency!"

"Has the princess found a way to clear the poison cloud?" Ask. "The underworld?"

"It's worse than that, sir." Gusterling said with a smile.

"There's a new alchemist in the city."