The exploration team consisted of eight people. Leading the way were "Iceberg Admiral" Edwina and Odis, followed by Daniels, a sailor from the "Golden Dream".
This sailor was no more than thirty years old, with a large belly and short legs, looking like a moving bucket from a distance.
The remaining five were pirates, all of whom were extraordinary individuals because this was a rescue mission.
The group carefully made their way to the bottom floor, where there was a short corridor leading to two massive stone doors.
Odis noticed a gap between the two stone doors, and guessed that the third officer of the "Golden Dream" must have gone inside.
Odis asked, "Did they know the structure of the church?"
"I know." This was also what Edwina found strange: "I explained this to them before we landed."
Odis did not immediately enter, but said, "They knew there might be danger down there, yet they still went down..."
Edwina and the others also stopped in their tracks, which was indeed very unreasonable.
Odis peeked through the crack in the door and vaguely saw what appeared to be some coffins inside.
He had read some relevant documents, and generally, this floor had a relatively large space, since it was a public cemetery for the entire city.
When ordinary believers die, their coffins are neatly placed deep inside the burial hall. Only when important religious figures die can their coffins be placed at the entrance, which is the center of the entire burial hall.
As Odis was pondering this information, her spirit suddenly sensed someone inside rapidly approaching the door.
However, Odis's view was blocked by the stone door, so he couldn't see who was coming.
He reached into his purse with one hand, took a step back, and assumed a defensive stance.
Suddenly, a pair of terrified eyes appeared through the crack in the door, and then Odis saw a face without skin, only muscles.
The teeth on this face are also exposed, making it look extremely ferocious and terrifying.
Even though Odis was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback.
Odis quickly stepped back again, simply giving up the doorway.
A ferocious monster rushed out from inside, and Odis realized that it had no skin from head to toe, with its muscles exposed.
This reminded Odis of a commission she received when she was playing the role of a wizard.
However, the situation in the commission was different from what we see now, because this person without skin was bleeding as he walked, not because his skin was "invisible," but because it was truly gone.
Upon seeing Edwina, he opened his mouth and let out several pitiful cries, as if he wanted to speak but could not utter a word.
By this time, Edwina and the others had already guessed that this must be one of the crew members, but they didn't know what had happened to him to turn out like this.
Odis said, "I will."
He tore off two pieces of clothing, wrapped them around his hands, then stepped forward, grabbed the other person's head, and twisted it sharply, ending the person's suffering.
After a few tense seconds, Edwina said, "When you return, remember to take his body with you."
At that moment, they didn't even know who had just died.
Odis crouched down to examine them, and after a while, he asked, "Do you know how to skin people?"
Boatswain Daniels swallowed hard. "Who knows how to do this?"
"I don't know either," Odis said. "But look at him, his muscles are almost undamaged, as if someone just peeled off his skin."
Edwina deduced, "There might be a monster with special abilities inside."
Odis nodded in agreement: "We can follow the bloody footprints and perhaps find the other crew members, but we must be careful in the process."
At that moment, the two pirates pushed the door wider, with Edwina and Odis still leading the way.
As the group entered the room, they were greeted by a vast space, with rows of coffins neatly arranged as far as the eye could see.
Among these coffins is a path leading into the depths of a dark hall, seemingly without end, as if this path leads to the final resting place of all the dead: the underworld.
Inside the door was a circular hall paved with stone slabs, with several layers of coffins arranged radially inside. Many of the coffin lids were open, as if the people "living" inside had "left" for some reason.
The bloody footprints did not come from the main hall, but from the right side of the hall.
There were several coffins burning in that direction, it looked like someone had just used extraordinary abilities there.
"It must have been Yodsen and his group who fought here," Edwina concluded.
Because Yodson is a "fire thief," he can not only temporarily "steal" the extraordinary abilities of his targets, but also "steal" fire and release it when needed.
After searching the surroundings and finding no other clues, Odis and the others continued forward following the footprints.
The further we walked, the more we felt a strange smell around us, like meat that had gone bad, but it hadn't yet turned rotten.
Theoretically speaking, cremation was not common in the Tertiary period, so this underground hall must have had a good ventilation system; otherwise, the stench of corpses inside would be enough to create toxic gas.
But after this place was buried underground, those ventilation shafts must have been covered up as well. Fortunately, no new bodies were brought in more than a thousand years ago.
Not only could you smell a strange odor, but the surrounding atmosphere also felt very cold.
Although Odis and the others were used to seeing strange events, for some reason they always had the illusion that the coffins around them would be pushed open in the next second, and the people lying inside would sit up and greet them warmly.
Just then, the bloody footprints disappeared.
It vanished suddenly, as if the pirate had suddenly lost his skin and stumbled his way out of here.
Then, Odis and the others discovered that several coffins not far away had been opened. They went over and searched them, and found that the corpses inside were still there, so it seemed that the "residents" inside had not opened them themselves.
If there were one less corpse, Odis and the others would inevitably wonder if the person who had just left was someone who had once been lying in a coffin.
Odis counted and found that seven coffins had been opened in total. He then asked Edwina, "How many crew members came down before?"
As expected, Edwina replied, "Seven."
She also discovered that the number of crew members who came down earlier was equal to the number of these coffins.
Then a terrifying thought occurred to them: what if the seven crew members had already become corpses in coffins?
Odis first smiled and shook his head. The one who ran out just now reacted somewhat anxiously after seeing Edwina, so he was most likely a pirate.
In that case, the quantities won't match.
Odis examined the coffins more closely, finally stopping in front of one: "Come and see, this coffin was completely opened by force."
The lids of the other coffins were all on the side, but the lid of this coffin was several meters away, and it even knocked two other coffins askew.
It is clear that the coffin was opened by a tremendous force.
Odis speculated: "Could it be that the seven crew members hid in the coffin because they were in danger?"
"One of the crew members was discovered; the coffin lid was opened, and the crew member was pulled out."
Then he was skinned alive and stumbled outside, where he happened to run into Odis and the others who had come down to check on him.
That means the other six people used the coffins to escape the pursuit of a certain monster.
The question is, why didn't they run outside after the danger was over?
They then began searching the surrounding area for clues about the attacker.
Odis suddenly said, "It would be dangerous for us to continue exploring like this. We need to discuss things before we can move forward."
Then he asked, "Is the third officer on the 'Golden Dream' also a Sequence 6?"
Edwina nodded: "Yes."
"A Sequence 6, plus six crew members, even if we encounter a Sequence 5 level enemy, there's no need to hide like this, right?" Odis analyzed. "But if the enemy is a demigod, our spirituality should have given us a warning long ago."
"So, is our enemy someone who is slightly higher than Sequence 5, but not quite at the level of a demigod?"
Upon hearing this, Daniels couldn't help but ask, "There are enemies like that?"
"Yes," Edwina said. "For example, creatures that possess the main ingredients for potions that can elevate one to demigod status."
She gave Odis a deep look, inwardly marveling at the "captain's" strong analytical abilities.
Such a jumbled mess of clues actually led to a reasonable guess so easily.
Odis continued, "Then the next step is to work backward: what kind of extraordinary creatures might possess the ability to skin people?"
The group fell into deep thought, only to realize that this question was difficult to answer precisely, because they did not know which extraordinary beings could be promoted to demigods, nor did they know what their specific abilities were.
However, Edwina quickly caught up with Odis's train of thought: "I have thought of a way."
She paused and then said, "Flesh and blood magic."
Odis smiled and said, "I also thought of the 'Mystic' approach."
Then he stopped laughing, because the pirate's skin might not have been peeled off, but rather it seemed to have come alive and detached from the body.
However, this does explain why the bloody footprints appeared suddenly.
Finally, Odis said, "Let's rejoin the Third Officer as soon as possible. This kind of enemy is too difficult for the two of us to deal with."
Once a being reaches the level of Sequence 4, they already possess a small degree of divinity.
Sequence 4 represents another qualitative leap. For a complete demigod, this leap is quite significant. The difference between Sequence 4 and Sequence 5 is roughly equivalent to the difference between Sequence 6 and Sequence 8.
If it were just an extraordinary creature with one of the main materials for advancement, it wouldn't be so obvious, but Odis still thought that he and Edwina would have some difficulty dealing with it.
Edwina thought for a moment and said to Daniels, "You take the rest of the crew back."
The chubby Daniels said somewhat reluctantly, "Captain..."
Edwina raised her hand: "If you're here, I might have to spare some energy to protect you, and then we might all die."
Odis nodded, also supporting Edwina's decision.
Daniels then reluctantly led the other five crew members away.
After Daniels and his men left, Odis said, "I am the 'Scroll Professor,' skilled in using various scrolls, and also have in-depth knowledge of the occult."
Since the upcoming battle would obviously require teamwork, Odis introduced herself.
What he actually wanted to emphasize was the statement, "I also have in-depth research on the occult." This statement, while not abrupt at this moment, could provide a prerequisite for his communication with "Lieutenant General Iceberg" after the incident.
Edwina paused for a moment before saying, "I am a 'Secret Arts Instructor,' skilled in various 'Secret Arts,' as well as simulating some extraordinary abilities I've seen."
As Odis surveyed his surroundings, he said, "That monster must have been 'living' here for a long time, but it hasn't come out to attack us yet. Either it's still hiding in the shadows waiting for an opportunity, or it's searching for your subordinates."
"I estimate the latter is more likely. My idea is that we make some noise to attract it."
Edwina smiled slightly: "That's a good idea."
She had just thought of this too, and was about to discuss it with Odis.
Third Mate Jodson and his crew could only run away when faced with a monster of this level, but if Odis and Edwina cooperated, they could at least fight the monster for a while.
With proper execution, taking down the opponent is not impossible.
If we continue searching like this, we may very well find only the bodies of the third mate and his crew when we finally reach the destination.
If the monsters are attracted, the third mate, Jodson, and his group will also be attracted, which might allow them to reunite. Whether to fight or retreat then depends on the situation.
Edwina hadn't expected that "Gale" had already figured out her plan before she even revealed it.
In fact, "Iceberg Admiral" sometimes felt quite lonely on the "Golden Dream," even though her crew respected her and obeyed her orders.
However, most crew members treat the study of mysticism as a perfunctory matter, and even use various methods to avoid exams.
Of course, for a "teacher," these are not difficult problems; she has plenty of ways to outwit and outmaneuver the crew.
The problem is that when Edwina encounters thorny mystical questions, she has no one to consult and can only write to her teachers and classmates for advice, but none of them are very good at solving problems at sea.
Most importantly, she and the crew members had different ways of thinking, which led to different ways of solving problems.
During this operation, the collaboration with Odis made Edwina feel very comfortable, and even changed her usual serious demeanor.
Odis pulled out a scroll: "How about I create an explosion?"
Remembering the explosion in the woods earlier, Edwina quickly said, "Let me do it."
As they spoke, the two of them skillfully found a hiding place. Then, Edwina rubbed her hands together, and a ball of light appeared in her palms. The ball of light quickly floated in mid-air and emitted a sharp whistling sound.
The shriek wasn't very piercing, but it could travel a long distance.
At the same time, the sphere of light emitted a bright light, illuminating the surrounding area.
It can be said that as long as the monster has sight or hearing, it can be attracted.
This way, at least it will know that someone has entered the hall again, and it will most likely come to check.
Then, Edwina and Odis each hid in the hiding places they had just found.
Odis chose a spot where two walls intersected, with a small section of one wall protruding out, just enough for him to hide.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
After hiding, Odis put on two magical items and immediately used an "invisibility scroll" to disappear into the darkness.
He looked around and was surprised to find several ancient symbols on the wall, which made him realize that there was a hidden door here.
However, now is not a good time to explore; we can only wait until after the battle is over.
Edwina also hid and used "secret techniques" to conceal her tracks, quietly waiting for the monster to arrive.
After waiting for almost a minute, the brightness of the orb began to dim, but the monster still did not appear.
Just when Odis thought the plan might fail, he suddenly noticed that the light in the corner in Edwina's direction seemed to dim for a moment.
The light from that sphere had already dimmed, so this slight dimming seemed quite natural.
Odis noticed the subtle change only because he had the "Eye of the Secrets." He immediately realized that the monster had probably arrived long ago and had already spotted Edwina, slowly approaching her.
Edwina clearly hadn't realized this yet. Although the "Reader" pathway potion also enhanced "Sight," the enhancement was different from that of "Eye of the Secrets."
The enhancement of "Reader" leans more towards the essence of what is seen, while the enhancement of "Peeping Eye" is an enhancement in the direction of "mystery," allowing him to see more information about the extraordinary.
It was too late to warn them now. After a moment's thought, Odis came up with a solution. He threw a "Radiant Scroll" in that direction, and as the scroll exploded, the entire burial hall seemed to be illuminated.
But no matter how strong the sunlight was, there was always a dim shadow that lingered in the corner of the wall not far from Edwina.
Edwina immediately realized that the monster was close by. Her light blue eyes turned bright pure white, and then a beam of light descended, striking the dim shadow.
Upon realizing it had been discovered, the shadow lunged toward Edwina's shadow, simultaneously dodging the beam of light.
"Lieutenant General Iceberg" immediately drew his sword, a sharp and exquisite-looking Western-style rapier. The moment Edwina infused it with spirituality, the light of dawn formed a "barrier" in front of her.
This is a magical item from "Iceberg General", corresponding to the "Guardian" of the "Warrior" path.
Before reaching demigod status, the "Reader" path shares some weaknesses with the "Secret Seeker" path, namely relatively weak defense. Even the "Simulation" abilities offer limited improvement in defense.
This magical item perfectly complements Edwina's abilities.
The shadow slammed into the barrier, unable to break through for a moment.
At this moment, Odis raised his left hand, which was the "hand of judgment": "Shadowing is forbidden here!"
The dim shadow suddenly expanded and transformed into a jet-black spider taller than a person, with blades on the inside of its eight thin, long legs, making it look like it was carrying eight long spears.
Although the shadow was just a small patch, this tall spider is its true form.
When the giant black spider realized it could not break through the "barrier" in time, it turned to attack Odis.
Just as Odis was about to use his "imprisonment" ability, his spirit suddenly sensed danger. He immediately drew out a "scale scroll," and the moment the scroll was opened, the coffin next to Odis exploded.
The "flesh bomb" blasted Odis away, sending him crashing into the wall. Luckily, he had the "scale armor scroll," otherwise, if he had used the "defense scroll," he would definitely have been injured by such an explosion.
Odis thought to himself: I've always been the one bombing others, this is the first time I've been bombed.
Just as he was about to retrieve the scroll, the enormous black spider rushed forward, swinging its long legs as if it were a large sword slashing down.
As Odis dodged, he pulled out a scroll that emitted a black light: "Arbitration!"
This is the "Arbitration Scroll" he developed through the "Stone of Iron Laws". The next three seconds will be the "Arbitration Moment", targeting the person being arbitrated, whose emotions, confidence and all abilities will be weakened.
Odis, on the other hand, acts as the arbitrator. His spirit and mental body will be greatly enhanced during these three seconds, creating a very powerful illusion that requires the target to overcome certain psychological barriers before they can make up their minds to attack him.
If used on Extraordinary Beings below Sequence 7, there is a certain probability that they will serve Odis during the "Arbitration Moment".
The moment the scroll shattered, the giant black spider's leg, which was attacking Odis, hesitated. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Odis swung her gauntlet-clad right hand and delivered a "Harvest" that knocked the giant black spider to the ground.
However, just before the black spider was hit, its shadow formed a thick layer of armor, so the punch only caused it minor injuries.
At the same time, Edwina's eyes turned silver-white as she chased after them, and a huge bolt of lightning struck the giant black spider lying on the ground.
With a "sizzle," lightning exploded, piercing the giant black spider and causing it to squeak and scream.
Odis rushed forward and threw another punch, using "Harvest" for the second time in a row. He felt his spiritual energy pouring into the "Harvest Gauntlets".
Using "Harvest" continuously will consume a lot of spiritual energy.
But the effect was also very significant. This spider, which was even higher than Sequence 5, was seriously injured by Odis's two consecutive punches.
The armor formed by its shadow was also partially shattered.
At this moment, it finally realized that it had encountered a powerful enemy, so it once again "shadowed" itself, turning into a clump of dark currents to escape from here.
Odis's previous "prohibition" did not mean that the target could no longer use the "shadowing" ability, but that when the target used this ability, it would be weakened, while Odis would become stronger as a result.
Therefore, generally speaking, people will not actively pursue abilities or things that are "prohibited".
Unless absolutely necessary.
For example, right now, this giant black spider is trying to escape and doesn't care about any of that.
At the same time, the "arbitration moment" ended, and Odis's spirit and mental body recovered, returning to the Sequence 6 level.
However, the benefits brought by the power of Odis's spirit just now almost offset the spiritual energy consumed by him when he used "Harvest" a second time, which was almost offset by the scroll's additional effects.
When Odis discovered the scroll, he came up with this combo. Normally, he wouldn't dare to use "Harvest" a second time.
Because that would consume nearly half of his spirituality, it would be better to use "death".
Unfortunately, if this scroll is used continuously, it will cause damage to Odis's spirit and mental body, so Odis dares not use it continuously.
On the other side, after Edwina attacked with lightning, she thrust out her rapier again, and the light of dawn descended, giving the rapier a layer of light like the morning sun.
"Lieutenant General Iceberg's" sword pierced the black shadow, which immediately spurted out a stream of black blood.
Attacks using the "Warrior" path can pierce through all extraordinary attacks and injure the target's body.
However, the giant black spider knew it had to escape as soon as possible, so it offered no resistance.
Odis strode forward, taking over the attack from "Iceberg General": "Death!"
Realizing the power of the attack, the black spider immediately stopped and manipulated Odis's shadow to entangle Odis's legs.
Odis suddenly jumped up and punched the shadow. A rare thing happened: the blow killed the giant black spider instantly!
The shadowy figure expanded again, transforming into the enormous spider. Its eight legs slashed and smashed wildly in all directions, and Odis was also struck once. Illusory black scales appeared, but he was not injured.
However, the surrounding coffins suffered greatly, with many being slashed or smashed away.
After struggling for more than ten seconds, the black spider finally collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Odis and Edwina exchanged a smile. Odis was thinking to herself: Fortunately, this monster only has abilities like "flesh magic" and "shadow transformation." If it could "herd" its prey, it certainly wouldn't be so easy to deal with.
Edwina, however, was thinking: "Garr" has two magical items that are equivalent to Sequence 5, as well as some scrolls with special abilities. He already has the strength of a "Pirate General." The reason he is not recognized as a "Pirate General" now is probably just because he hasn't had the opportunity to demonstrate his strength before.
At the same time, she was a little puzzled as to why "Element Dawn" would suddenly want to cultivate such a "great pirate". In her opinion, a Sequence 6 holding two Sequence 5 level seals must be due to the organization's help.
What intrigued Edwina even more was why "Element Dawn" suddenly placed such a talented member on the high seas.
Since the "Elemental Dawn" is already very powerful on the high seas, there seems to be no need to strengthen it further.
A member like "Garr" would be a leader of a region no matter where he is placed, or it would be more reasonable to let him develop on his own than to put him at sea.
Neither Odis nor Edwina spoke, but silently observed the characteristics of the giant black spider, which were concentrated on a hard bone on its forehead.
Odis suggested, "Should we carry it out first...?"
He had only spoken halfway when several figures moved in the distance.
Just as Odis was about to throw out another "Sun Scroll," Edwina waved her hand at him: "Those are my crew members."
Odis said "Oh," first taking off his boxing gloves, then his mittens.
Soon, the other person also saw Edwina and quickly walked over: "Captain."
Leading the way was a handsome young man with light blond hair.
This is Jodson, the third mate of the "Golden Dream".
He seemed quite excited to see Edwina, but upon seeing Odis, he immediately became alert.
Edwina then said, "This is Captain Gar. I invited him to rescue you. Thanks to him, we were able to deal with this monster relatively easily."
Jodson was initially skeptical, because according to their analysis, this "Captain Gal" should be a Sequence 6.
Yodson was well aware of the monster's strength; a Sequence 6 would have little effect.
However, he quickly chose to trust the captain and politely said to Odis, "Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome," Odis smiled. "This isn't the place to talk. I suggest we move the monster's body to the uppermost hall first, and then continue our conversation."
With Jodson and the others around, Odis no longer needed to do it himself.
They carried the body to the doorway, joined Daniels and the others, and then went back to the church upstairs.
It was only then that Jodson recounted their ordeal: after the passage was sealed off, they tried searching the lower level for any other exits.
At that moment, someone called their names from below. They thought the captain had found another passage and was waiting for them on the lower level.
When they entered the lowest level, they realized something was wrong. Yodson set fire to several coffins and saw a shadow hanging from the ceiling of the hall not far away.
Yodson quickly threw out a "Death" pathway talisman he had obtained earlier, placing it in the center of the hall. The corpse there opened its coffin on its own, temporarily enveloping the shadow.
This gave Jodson and the others a chance to hide inside the coffin.
What happened next was pretty much what Odis had predicted: one of the members was discovered and pulled out of the coffin.
They did not choose to rescue their companions because they knew very well that they were simply not capable of doing so and would all die there.
So while the monster was toying with its companion, they fled again and went into hiding once more.
Soon after, they heard a shriek and came over to investigate.
After seeing the gruesome state of his companion's body, Yodsen felt some remorse, but Edwina did not blame him because his choice was correct; otherwise, the subsequent rescuers would have only found seven bodies.
After Jodson finished recounting his ordeal, Edwina said to Odis, "Let's talk about dividing the spoils."