Chapter 1 Initial Draft

After Sulun discovered that the Death Crow was a treasure, he spent the entire night researching its other potential uses.

He figured that even in that otherworldly spirit plane, this kind of "mythical creature" would be very rare.

Afraid that he wouldn't be able to summon it next time, Sulun coaxed and persuaded it, intending to sign a blood pact.

The black crow didn't seem to mind. It ate two pieces of carrion and readily agreed.

Although they couldn't communicate verbally, because it was a contracted creature, the two of them could communicate simply through thought.

Crows are already quite intelligent, and this Death Crow was clearly much more intelligent than an average crow.

Moreover, Sulun had some experience raising crows, so communication was relatively smooth. He also figured out another function of this bird, which was "shared vision."

After signing the blood pact, Sulun discovered that his soul and the bird were connected in some mysterious way.

By mobilizing that contract power, it was like a video call. He could see what the Death Crow saw through its eyes.

After a few tries, he was already proficient in using this new ability.

Previously, he wasn't very confident about hunting the Mind Flayer, but with this black crow, he was much more confident.

It was a true "undead" creature. Even if its body was shattered into pieces, as long as the death energy remained, it could resurrect and re-coalesce next to the contractor.

In other words, it was an unkillable "unmanned reconnaissance aircraft."

The cost of using this ability was small. A delicious piece of carrion was enough to make the crow happy.

Moreover, Sulun had also learned some legends about this bird from Yuta.

Mythical texts recorded that the Death Crow was a messenger between the Netherworld and other living planes. In ancient times, it was one of the most ideal contracted pets for top-tier necromancers. They often accompanied true death deities, devouring death energy. While eating carrion, they would have a chance to gain certain abilities of the corpse, condensing them into the laws of death, becoming stronger and stronger.

This talent was somewhat similar to the Death Harvester, weak in the early stages and strong in the later stages.

Sulun also guessed that this was the reason he was able to summon this mythical species.

However, the only problem was that the bird was very picky about its food.

Sulun had tried feeding it all kinds of meat, but found that it would only eat the Cursed Corpses from his loot.

It wouldn't even glance at other meats.

This also meant that Sulun couldn't keep it by his side for a long time for the time being.

After all, the stock of that kind of meat was limited, and it would be gone after it was eaten.

After trying for a few hours, he kept a few pieces of meat for later, and then released the spiritism spell, sending the black crow back to the other world.

He thought that he would raise the bird by his side for a long time when he found enough high-quality carrion to use as "feed" in the future.

...

The next morning, sunlight shone into the cave.

After resting, Sulun and Yuta continued on their way.

About a day or two north of the Gray Wolf Tribe was the area where the Cursed Valley was located.

That was the forbidden area of the Dalu Tribe. Yuta had never been there either, but had only heard the elders of the tribe mention the route.

By the evening of the second day, the two arrived at a place called the Blood Mist Swamp.

The two were blocked by the blood-colored mist that filled their vision.

Yuta looked at the crude animal skin map, pointed in a direction, and said, "Not far to the northwest of the swamp is where our ancestors encountered the Mind Flayer. There should be a skull-shaped cave..."

"Mm."

Sulun nodded.

Looking at the blood mist in front of him, he didn't plan to test it with his own body.

He thought for a moment, then pinched his warlock seal, and the pentagram array lit up, summoning a black crow.

After feeding it a piece of carrion, the Death Crow flapped its wings and flew into the sky.

Light and shadow flashed across Sulun's right eye, and the black crow's vision immediately appeared.

Although the blood mist in the swamp was blinding, because the mist was heavy, it only covered the ground for a few tens of meters.

The black crow flew up a hundred meters, and its vision immediately became clear.

Then, he indeed saw the skull-shaped cave that Yuta mentioned.

Sulun exclaimed softly, "Found it!"

But at the same time, he was shocked: "Could it really be a fossilized skull? How big would this creature have to be?"

Perhaps it wasn't clear on the ground, but it was unobstructed from the sky.

It was a gray-white cave shaped like a human skull, with eye sockets and a mouth shape. It didn't look like it was formed naturally, but more like a humanoid corpse that had rotted on the ground.

But it was too big. The two eye sockets alone were several meters in diameter.

But just as he wanted to take a closer look, a black shadow flashed across the sky, and a flying creature of unknown species swallowed the black crow whole in one gulp.

The vision was interrupted, and black mist surrounded Sulun's shoulder, and another black crow condensed.

Sulun fed a piece of carrion to the black crow to replenish its death energy.

He frowned slightly and said to Yuta beside him, "Let's go. Be careful."

Yuta nodded, "Mm."

The Cursed Valley ran north-south, and those Luying Judgement Legion people entered from the northern entrance.

The Mind Flayer that Sulun was looking for was in the south, and there was no way to avoid this swamp.

With the fog obscuring their vision, the two moved slowly.

In the swamp, there were Swamp Crocodiles that were tens of meters long, Black Water Boas that could swallow wild cattle, Bā Huáng Leeches that could drain people dry without them even noticing... and countless poisonous insects.

The swamp was full of dangers.

Before, Sulun would have been very careful.

But now he was holding a black umbrella, and his senses were magnified several times. He could easily sense and avoid those powerful magical beasts hidden in the mud, and also avoid some unnecessary battles.

And Yuta, as a druid, was also proficient in various means of driving away insects and removing miasma.

What's more, there was the "drone" black crow.

With the cooperation of the two people and one bird, they moved relatively smoothly.

After confirming the direction of the cave, they quickly arrived in the nearby area.

.......

Sulun and the others didn't approach rashly, but chose a safe place and planned to observe the situation first.

Near the cave, they found some scattered equipment and items from human adventurers.

It seemed that humans had passed through here recently.

There were no signs of battle, so they were likely eaten by monsters.

Mind Flayers were subterranean creatures and usually didn't appear on the surface, let alone in the sunlight.

However, its mental tentacles could extend very far.

The predecessors of the Dalu Tribe were unknowingly controlled when they passed by here. Then they walked into the cave themselves and became food for the monsters.

This was also the horror of the Mind Flayer.

Before, Sulun would probably slowly approach the skull cave to test it out.

But in that case, once discovered, he would have to fight the puppets enslaved by the Mind Flayer head-on. Then he would have to kill all the way down to find its main body.

But the situation in the cave was unknown.

Sulun didn't think that an intelligent evil creature like the Mind Flayer wouldn't have any means of escape prepared. Even if he could win, the chances of catching it after scaring it away would be very low.

Moreover, Sulun didn't know how many "mental puppets" it had, what species they were, or what level they were...

Now that he had the black crow, it was much more convenient.

Sulun didn't need to test it himself, he could just control it remotely.

He released the black crow, which flew over and drilled into the skull cave.

With this look, there was a whole other world in this cave.

The black crow flew into the cave, flying deeper and deeper into the winding tunnel, and then saw an underground village.

"There are so many lizardmen?"

Light and shadow flashed across Sulun's eyes, and he saw the shadows active in the light of the magic crystals. It was a lively village.

Those creatures had long tails, and he recognized them at a glance as the subterranean race, "lizardmen."

The black crow stopped on a rock on a cliff, carefully observing everything in the cave.

There were at least five or six hundred lizardmen in this tribe.

Sure enough, it was right not to rush in rashly.

The fourth-tier lizardmen would have horns on their heads, which were easy to identify.

Sulun saw several existences with horns on their heads in that group of lizardmen. But the horns weren't long, which meant that there weren't any too troublesome existences.

And upon closer inspection, some of the lizardmen were wearing human leather armor and armor.

Looking like the equipment of the "slave hunting team."

And the flesh and blood they were dividing was actually the corpses of humans and Dalu Tribe members!

The scene was extremely bloody.

And the heads of those corpses had been pierced with a bloody hole, and their brains had been sucked dry.

Seeing this, Sulun realized that the Mind Flayer must be here!

That kind of evil monster liked to suck the brains of creatures the most.

"That Mind Flayer actually controls an entire lizardman tribe as rations..."

Sulun's gaze was slightly solemn.

If he went down head-on, he would have to fight these five or six hundred lizardmen first.

It was hard to say whether he could win.

Even if he really won, the Mind Flayer would probably take the opportunity to run away.

The black crow looked for a while, and didn't find any existences suspected of being at the fifth tier, so it continued to deepen along the cave.

Not far, he saw a cave emitting green fluorescence.

The source of the green fluorescence was a pool in the cave, which contained round balls the size of fists.

The black crow's gaze turned, and he immediately saw several humans standing there with blank expressions. And opposite them, a terrifying monster three meters tall, with an ugly face and meat tentacles growing from its jaw, was using its tentacles to pierce people's skulls and greedily sucking their brains.

And those humans who were used as "rations" didn't struggle or resist at all until they died.

"It's here!"

Outside the cave on the ground, Sulun saw this scene and immediately confirmed that this was the Mind Flayer he was looking for!

And just at this moment, probably because the movement of the black crow flying in was noticed, the flesh tentacle monster suddenly looked up, and an invisible shock wave struck.

Sulun felt as if the picture in front of him was stuck, and it collapsed in an instant.

Looking again, the black crow had re-condensed on his shoulder.

.......

The Death Crow died twice in a short period of time, and its death energy was seriously depleted.

It was difficult to recover with food alone, so Sulun sent it back to the other world.

Seeing the Death Crow resurrect again, Yuta on the side also asked, "How is it? Is that Mind Flayer in the cave?"

Sulun nodded, "Yes."

While speaking, the frowning and thoughtful expression on his face didn't disappear.

Seeing him like this, Yuta was slightly worried, "Will it be very troublesome?"

After all, the ancestors passed down by word of mouth that this was a very terrifying creature, and she also had an instinctive fear in her heart. Back then, that fifth-tier elder also lost half of his life before escaping. So many years had passed, and that Mind Flayer might be even stronger than it was then.

"It is a bit troublesome. The space in the cave is very large and complex, and there is also a lizardman tribe of about six hundred people..."

Sulun told the truth about the situation. The topic then changed, "But I also have a bit of confidence."

Mind Flayers have a long lifespan, several times that of humans.

But correspondingly, advancement will be very slow.

Therefore, Sulun judged that this Mind Flayer was about the same as it was back then, at most at the fourth tier.

This point could also be judged from the fact that the strongest of those lizardmen was only at the fourth tier.

If the Mind Flayer's rank was higher, then it would definitely create stronger "mental puppets."

Moreover, Sulun also discovered a "major benefit"!

The pool emitting fluorescence that the black crow saw in the cave before was the Mind Flayer's incubation pool!

He had already learned about the information of this evil species in detail. Mind Flayers are hermaphroditic. They lay eggs in their brains and then put them in the incubation pool. This process consumes a lot of energy.

Therefore, during the corruption process, it will be the weakest time in this monster's life, and its combat power will usually drop in rank.

If it was a fourth-tier lord-level Mind Flayer, then at most it would have the strength of an ordinary fourth tier in its incubation state, or even the third tier.

This was the best opportunity to strike!

After hearing Sulun's words, Yuta knew that he had always been thoughtful in his actions, so she didn't say much, but just asked, "Then what are you going to do? There are six or seven hundred lizardmen there. If you really make a move, the monster might escape..."

"No! I won't enter from the entrance!"

Sulun shook his head, his eyes narrowed, and he said, "That monster won't leave the incubation pool. I'll teleport directly over there. Its main body isn't strong in combat, as long as I kill it quickly, there won't be a big problem!"

Yuta listened and felt that this was the best plan, "Then what can I do to help?"

Sulun said, "I'm worried that the Mind Flayer still has other hidden tricks. If I can't kill it, or if I encounter other dangers, I might not be able to escape in time. Then you tear the space scroll, and I can teleport over!"

As he said that, he handed Yuta a space scroll.

He was inspired by the spiritism spell last night and thought of another way to escape.

That was reverse spiritism.

By pre-sealing the energy and blood pact needed for space teleportation in the scroll, Sulun could quickly and accurately teleport without even forming a seal.

This method was more rapid and farther away.

Although he had repeatedly deduced in his mind that the success rate of the quick kill plan was over 90%, he was not careless.

This was the last insurance.

Yuta nodded.

.......

Sulun prepared everything and was ready to take action.

The space in the cave was not large, and the Mechanical Armor was not flexible enough. He didn't plan to wear it down, but just took off the helmet made of Vibranium Alloy and put it on. He also put on the Gold-Patterned Cloak and held the Black Umbrella with the Wraith in his hand.

With these several insurances, that Mind Flayer could forget about controlling him.

Everything was ready, and Sulun suddenly released the Eight-Armed Spider Spear armor and teleported to the entrance of the skull cave.

Almost at the same time, a mental force swept over.

"Sure enough, I was discovered!"

Sulun was not surprised. He dropped a few communicator signal transmitters and then cast the space spell again.

Because he had explored the terrain in the cave before, he teleported once and accurately appeared deep in the cave. At the same time, he immediately heard dense footsteps approaching him.

Obviously, the Mind Flayer was controlling the lizardmen to kill him.

Sulun didn't intend to entangle with them at all. He dropped two transmitters and teleported again.

His dark vision was very good, and he could see clearly even in the dim cave.

The scene in front of him changed again, and he immediately appeared in the cave with green fluorescence that he had seen before.

In his soul perception, a very strong soul fire appeared in front of Sulun!

Then he stared blankly at the monster with meat tentacles all over its face.

The monster was obviously seeing "space magic" for the first time and was greatly surprised by this suddenly appearing enemy.

It reacted quickly. It glared and an invisible shock wave rushed over.

"Soul Shock!"

Sulun's pupils shrank slightly. Even with a helmet and a black umbrella, the feeling of being hit on the back of the head was still very clear.

If a fifth-tier professional came, they would probably be hit by this mental shock wave.

But Sulun was overjoyed, and the communicator in his hand also loosened.

Enduring this first wave of attacks meant that, as expected, this Mind Flayer had little impact on him!

This monster's killing move was also very skilled. At the same time as the soul shock, the tentacles pierced towards his eye sockets like sharp thorns.

This was also its only melee method.

A cold light flashed in Sulun's eyes, and he dodged the tentacles like lightning.

He took out the chessboard without hesitation, wanting to directly capture this Mind Flayer into the chessboard space. But unexpectedly, the chessboard space failed for the first time. A ripple rippled around the Mind Flayer's body, and it actually resisted the beam of light.

And at this moment, a large number of lizardmen had already appeared in the cave passage behind him.

This Mind Flayer obviously knew that it was weak in melee combat and had summoned its mental puppets.

"Mental barrier? Or is it because its mental power is stronger than mine that it resisted..."

A thought flashed through Sulun's mind, but he didn't panic at all and changed his move.

He pinched the warlock seal with both hands and lightly shouted in his heart: "Puppet Secret Art - Puppet Theater!"

At this time, dense silk threads suddenly appeared in the cave. As soon as the seal scroll was unfolded, dozens of puppets appeared out of thin air and directly blocked the entrance of the cave, blocking the oncoming lizardmen.

And he himself rushed towards the Mind Flayer's main body without hesitation.

Sulun, a puppeteer, was not afraid of having too many monsters in this confined space.

The Mind Flayer was still continuously releasing mental shock waves, and Sulun also felt more and more dazed.

And what was worse was that a sound like a giant snake rubbing against the cave suddenly came from the depths of the cave.

"There are other mental puppets?"

Sulun knew that he had to kill it quickly. He changed the warlock seal again: "Silk Control Secret Art - Cocoon!"

A large number of silk threads, like spider webs, sealed off all the cave entrances.

The Mind Flayer had nowhere to retreat.

Sulun rushed forward, his whole body covered in cold flames, and the eight-armed spider spear stabbed towards the monster's body all around.

He also immediately confirmed that this monster's physical combat power was very weak, at most at the level of an ordinary third-tier magical beast!

Being approached by Sulun, it was instantly stabbed with several bloody holes.

Just as Sulun was about to kill it while taking advantage of the victory, the rubbing sound had already appeared in his ears.

The wall made of silk thread was not thick enough. A blind, pink tentacle pierced through the wall and slammed towards Sulun like lightning.

Before it even hit, the tip of the pink tentacle suddenly exploded, turning into a bloody mouth full of fangs. The muscles like a throat contracted, and a foul-smelling concentrated acid sprayed out.

Sulun's eyes narrowed, and he immediately identified the origin of this creature.

Hell Bristle Worm

Details: A fourth-tier lord-level hell creature with very strong vitality. The skin tissue is extremely tough, it can spew corrosive poison, and the tentacles move extremely fast, extending up to a kilometer. It is very sensitive to the aura of creatures and will hunt all creatures within its perception;

"Another legendary hell creature..."

Sulun felt very bad in his heart.

He was only facing one probing tentacle for now. Its main body was underground and it had countless tentacles behind it!

He could tell from the dense rubbing sounds that the tentacle monster had surrounded the entire cave.

Sulun was also grateful that he chose to teleport to launch a sneak attack and kill it quickly. Otherwise, even if he had to fight head-on from below, even if he killed all the lizardmen, he would have been阴死活活活 by this thing. This dense cave was not for escaping, but for the movement channels of that monster's tentacles!

If a few fifth-tiers came, they would probably die here.

He did not expect Sulun to be able to kill fourth-tier lord monsters, he quickly flashed and avoided the first tentacle. He hesitated as he controlled the living corpse to wave the black sickle and slashed, directly cutting off a tentacle.

And his main body even stabbed seven or eight bloody holes in the Mind Flayer's body with the spider spear.

In an instant, the mental shock that had been strong before immediately disappeared.

Since it was a quick kill that was already in the plan, everything was as expected except for that Bristle Worm.

"It's done!"

Sulun was overjoyed. He didn't even have time to take a closer look. He grabbed the Mind Flayer's corpse and put it into the storage space.

With the Mind Flayer dead, the lizardmen were in a daze.

But the Bristle Worm's hunting instinct was still there, and it instantly devoured a large number of lizardmen.

The black sickle had already cut off three tentacles, but it couldn't do anything to its main body hidden in the ground.

He didn't expect to be able to kill this monster.

Sulun glanced at the glowing incubation pool. Those fist-sized round balls were naturally the Mind Flayer's eggs.

He took out a glass container and poured them all into it.

At the same time, he pressed the communicator.

Looking again, the surrounding scenery changed, and Sulun had already appeared on the ground.

"Let's go!"

Without waiting to explain, Sulun grabbed Yuta and ran.

On the ground near the skull cave behind him, thousands of pink tentacles suddenly sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, swaying in the wind like seaweed...