Chapter 1 The Enmity

The bottom of the lake was pitch black, devoid of any life. Clearly, anything that dared to approach had been devoured by the Haim Khimga, who was ravenously guarding its eggs. Although Fang Senyan and Reef had absolutely no experience with underwater diving, Miss Wu Ge could directly enter the 3D mode for detecting plants. Under her guidance, they wound through the miasma-like underground water system, swimming back into the lake that the Orcs called "Khazad-dûm."

At this time, Fang Senyan and Reef noticed that the lake water temperature had noticeably decreased. Apparently, the Balrog's injury had triggered a chain reaction. It began frantically drawing geothermal energy to heal its wounds, naturally causing the lake bottom temperature to drop rapidly. Those strange, eerie fish also began to cautiously and greedily swim around. Some of the hungry ones even launched attacks on Fang Senyan. However, because of Miss Wu Ge, the most threatening giant tentacle worms only swam around curiously, saving Fang Senyan and the others a lot of trouble.

Obviously, the previous octopus monster, Haim Khimga, had fought with the Balrog more than once. Therefore, a small number of its eggs should have been washed into this lake along with the flood, and in the process of rotting, they influenced and polluted the creatures in this lake, transforming them into their current appearance. Furthermore, these mutated creatures' bodies were also "contaminated" by the Haim Khimga's genes, so the giant octopus would treat them as "its own" and not hunt them, which is why their stats remained so high. Fortunately, although Fang Senyan and Reef's strength had declined, they now had a Dawn Elf to escort them. Miss Wu Ge also didn't harm them. With a wave of her hand, a large amount of green algae flowed around her like long hair. Once a strange fish approached, a clump of green algae would separate to block their mouths, forcing these guys to flee in panic.

After the three of them landed, they were naturally stunned by the Plague Land, which had been burned into a white wasteland. Even Fang Senyan did not expect that Saruman would resort to such a vicious, exterminating plan in order to safely pass through this ghastly place.

According to Fang Senyan's speculation, the water veins beneath the Plague Land probably connected to a long-term habitat of the Haim Khimga. The fluids secreted by this giant octopus also had a tremendous hallucinatory effect. Mixed in the water, they were continuously absorbed by the roots of the pine trees growing here like water pumps, infiltrating the soil. Therefore, when there was sunlight, it would cause people to enter fatal hallucinations.

The group continued to move forward. Seeing the site of the previous avalanche, they couldn't help but sigh, feeling as if they were in another world. Because the snow valley had been trampled into a wide road by the hordes of Orc tribes that had emerged, the three of them were not in danger of leaving footprints that would be discovered. Seeing that they had walked more than ten kilometers further, they could see the Orc camp, which resembled a white giant beehive, appearing in front of them.

At this time, the three of them had two choices: one, turn left and return to the Orc camp; two, turn right and naturally leave this damned place. After thinking for a while, Fang Senyan said seriously, "Wu Ge, do you really have the ability to survive and save your life at a critical moment?"

Wu Ge nodded very seriously.

Fang Senyan handed the animal skin package on his shoulder to Reef. Inside were the Haim Khimga eggs they had plundered. Then, he looked at him and said, "It seems like it's time for us to part ways here. Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This Orc camp is more empty than ever before. I estimate that the vast majority of the people inside have been taken away by Saruman's clone. Because Saruman's clone is plotting something huge this time, he will definitely use every last bit of strength he has in his hands… even the old, weak, sick, and disabled can be used as cannon fodder. So, I think there is a high probability of reaping great benefits." Reef nodded and said, "Understood, I'm the remaining insurance, right?"

"That's right. You have the blessing of the Dawn Elf, which allows you to blend in with nature, so as long as you enter a place with lush vegetation, the chance of encountering danger will be greatly reduced. And there is still plenty of time before the Dawn Elf's blessing fades." Fang Senyan said calmly, "Your existence is my trump card for taking risks with confidence." Reef also smiled. He had always been a very serious person, but with a smile on his face at this time, he also had a different kind of calmness and straightforwardness. "Take care, Sailor, but I still have some concerns."

Fang Senyan said seriously, "Tell me." Reef thought for a while and said, "This Saruman is just a clone, so you can imagine that there will definitely be very few collections in the Wizard's Tower. Moreover, he is going to fight a fierce battle with a powerful enemy this time, so he must have brought all the recovery items, combat props, and even equipment that he could bring. This will inevitably lead to a further decrease in the chances of getting good things."

"Finally, because of that damned rule, the things we can take out will also be limited. After this triple weakening, the benefits that can be reaped are also very few. So, the main purpose of your adventure inside can only be to complete your sixth-order ability."

Fang Senyan nodded and said, "Yes, that's what I think too. But I still think this risk is worth taking."

Reef thought for a while and said, "Okay, then, take care."

Fang Senyan had to hurry, because he didn't know when Saruman's clone would return. So, he had already turned around and strode toward the Orc camp, with a swaying leather bag hanging from his waist. He also raised his hand and waved at Reef.

Just as the two separated, a ruthless voice sounded again in the Nightmare Imprint: "Scanning: Team Mission of Number 1018: Survival has reached the time-related critical point again!"

"Congratulations: Number 1018, your Team Mission: Survival has reached the final stage of the time-related critical point!"

"Warning: The difficulty of your stay in this world will increase again. From now on, all attribute bonuses you have gained in the Nightmare Space will disappear. Your physical qualities will be reduced to the normal human data level when you first entered the space!"

"Hint: You have reached the final stage of Team Mission: Survival. You can stay in this space for a maximum of 8 hours. At that time, you will reach the highest standard of Team Mission: Survival Evaluation LvMax, and you will be forcibly teleported back to the Nightmare Space. If you can achieve this goal, then you will receive the relevant milestone and the highest reward for this mission!"

Although Fang Senyan had been mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy. In addition, there was one thing that, although he had already speculated, he still had to ask cautiously, "If I choose to return to the space at this time, and my companion who entered this world with me stays until the end, how will the mission rewards be calculated?"

"Querying answer…………"

"Backing up…"

"Answering…"

"You chose to enter this world together and started establishing Team Mission: Survival at the same time. Therefore, as long as anyone survives to the end, the evaluation of the mission completion will only calculate the most outstanding score among the members participating in the mission."

After receiving this answer, Fang Senyan was also relieved, and confidently returned to the Orc city. However, suddenly regaining the physique of an ordinary person really made him quite uncomfortable. Fang Senyan couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart. In this case, he would have to spend at least five more minutes on the road alone!

And at this critical moment when he was about to sneak into Saruman's Wizard's Tower to cause trouble, five minutes could very well mean success or failure, life or death!!

During this time, Fang Senyan took the opportunity to check his attributes. As expected, he found that everything had returned to the personal data when he first entered the space, and all his abilities, including active and passive ones, showed the words "Sealed." The only exception, however, was his talent, "Tenacity!"

Although Tenacity was also not in effect, the three words displayed above were "Unawakened!" This display method was no different from checking the talent in the real world!

Although the Orc city looked completely dead, everything still seemed to be in order. Obviously, Saruman's clone had been preparing for this expedition for quite a long time.

Walking in this town full of foul smells, dirt, and yet unusually strong and durable, reading the chaotic noise in his memories, Fang Senyan even felt a vague fear of being in a ghost town.

The Wizard's Tower was just ahead.

Because this Wizard's Tower was, strictly speaking, a rough and shoddy version, only the top floor used Mithril, Kryptonite, and other precious materials, built according to the most standard Wizard's Tower. Therefore, when entering the first four floors, there was no need to worry about magic traps at all.

With the intelligence of the Orcs and Uruk-hai, whose brains were almost filled with muscle tendons, it was absolutely not difficult to identify those crude and powerful ordinary traps. Moreover, Fang Senyan had memorized the environment inside when transporting materials, not to say that he was completely familiar with it, but he also knew seventy to eighty percent of it.

"Go this way." After entering the Wizard's Tower, although Fang Senyan was an ordinary person, he was not clumsy or flexible, and led the way in front. "Be careful of this section of stairs. See, yes, it's this black wooden board in the middle. If you step on it, a boulder will roll down from above."

Wu Ge walked silently behind Fang Senyan. Her clear and flawless eyes suddenly looked at him with sadness, "I can feel that you are getting weaker and weaker."