Chapter 136

While Li Ang was earnestly spouting nonsense, new developments occurred at the front of the steps.

A large number of disappeared individuals in transformed Buddha forms, wearing benign smiles, silently toppled over in place, falling onto the steps.

Upon examination, they were found to be barely breathing, their souls weak, and exceedingly feeble.

"The cave is increasing the extraction of faith power to resist Michael's Flame Blade strike."

The Truth Seeker, with his vast knowledge, rasped, "If Michael continues to strike, these people will be rapidly drained into shriveled husks."

Just as he said, Michael surveyed the ordinary people collapsing below like harvested crops. After a moment of silence, he slowly extinguished the undying flames on his sword.

The four wings on his back also retracted, returning to their original two.

"Everyone here has become a hostage..."

Xingyun at the front of the team rubbed her brow in distress, directing several of her companions to help the fallen ordinary people up and administer diluted potions that could replenish their energy.

The corner of her eye subtly swept over the calm-faced transcendents below the steps, and she sighed silently in her heart.

Most transcendents were relatively pragmatic and self-interested. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Indian civilians might not be worth as much as ten thousand game currency points in their eyes.

Even their own compatriots were not worth risking their lives to rescue—at times like these, they would shout "Transcendent lives matter too," "Freedom, equality, and rejection of oppression," instead of "With great power comes great responsibility."

This was the black humor of the Killing Game.

Kind, benevolent, responsible, and selfless good people had a harder time surviving in the early stages of the game,

while those who abandoned conscience, morality, integrity, and principles early on, and firmly believed in social Darwinism, had a higher probability of survival.

Xingyun was calm. She had realized this long ago and would not, like the pure and kind young women in some literary works,

criticize others for this "selfish" behavior—everyone was just a pawn struggling to survive in the Killing Game. Making it through was difficult enough; there was no energy to criticize others' treatment of ordinary people.

"Still not working..."

Michael planted his sword on the ground. After a moment of thought, he took several steps back himself,

allowing Xingyun and several other companions from the Global Supernatural Alliance to move forward and stand in front of the cave.

Strangely enough, when Michael retreated and Xingyun and the others moved forward,

the cave stopped changing rapidly and instead fixed its shape, becoming a stone archway in the style of a Roman Colosseum.

If the number of people standing in front of the cave increased further, the cave would start to change again.

After several tests and discussions, the player team finally determined that

the cave was similar to the mystical concept of a *Misu* (Mystic Lock),

a powerful enchantment covering a wide area, possessing a certain degree of consciousness, intelligence, or instinct.

Its main purpose was to protect something within its range and drive away outsiders.

Enchantment spells were not uncommon.

The simplest enchantment, such as \[Idlers Keep Away], could be used to disperse ordinary people.

More advanced ones were used by the Clock Tower Mage Association in their London headquarters—the building stood in the bustling city center of London, but London residents and tourists, no matter how many times they walked past the entrance, would not realize that a building existed there.

Only extremely rare ordinary people born with magical talent could see the building,

and they would be quickly discovered by the Clock Tower Mage Association and taken in as apprentices.

A *Misu*, however, was the most profound, most mysterious, and rarest of enchantment spells.

Most *Misu* had been lost to the tides of history,

with only vague descriptions remaining in some incomplete ancient books—in a sense, the Prisoner Demon Cave could also be considered a *Misu*.

The effects of *Misu* enchantments varied greatly.

Some were of the extermination type, killing any intruders without mercy;

others were of the concealment type, used to hide kingdoms, caves, or treasures;

and still others were of the curse type or the sealing type.

The former was used to curse a race or a family, causing them long-term misfortune,

while the latter was used to seal an extremely dangerous creature or supernatural item.

The Ajanta Caves before them were clearly a protective type of *Misu*.

Its effect was simple.

When it detected a high-energy reaction, the *Misu* automatically activated, constantly changing shape to form a labyrinth, preventing intrusion.

Conversely, targets with relatively low strength and less intense energy reactions could sneak into the *Misu* enchantment.

Defending against the strong but not the weak,

this setting seemed like a blatant open conspiracy.

Those who stepped into it without knowing the situation might encounter strange and special situations in the cave and die inexplicably.

But right now, there didn't seem to be a better solution.

A group of players gathered to discuss for a moment, and soon a plan was formulated.

The sixty-odd people were divided into six groups and entered the Ajanta Caves in batches, communicating via walkie-talkies.

Hohenheim, the most knowledgeable in the team about mysticism, had confirmed that the *Misu* itself had the ability to self-deform,

but did not have the functions of space expansion, slowing down time, or creating illusions.

In other words, teams entering the *Misu* would most likely find themselves in a complex labyrinth,

but this labyrinth was just a labyrinth, without fatal elements.

The teams that entered successively would explore their respective areas,

communicate through walkie-talkies, and jointly draw a map of the Ajanta Caves.

If they could find King Sibi's main body along the labyrinth, that would naturally be the best outcome.

If they had not found King Sibi after the allotted time,

they would adopt the backup plan, everyone would start to gather, regardless of the lives or deaths of the missing people outside,

and directly dismantle the *Misu* violently from the inside, eventually finding King Sibi.

The power of faith provided by hundreds of thousands of casual believers sounded like a lot,

but if they really had to wear it down, the player team, well-equipped with siege machinery and supplies, could definitely outlast it. If that didn't work, they could call in an air strike.

After discussing the two sets of plans, the players began to form groups according to their respective power systems and the degree of familiarity and trust they had with each other.

The first team consisted mainly of people from the European Heavy Industries Group and the Special Incidents Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, led by David, Fuxiao, Abel, and others.

The second team consisted mainly of members of official organizations and folk guilds from East Asia, led by Wang Buliuxing, Xinghe Chou, Sesshouin, and others.

The third team consisted mainly of agents from the Global Supernatural Alliance, led by Xingyun.

The fourth team consisted mainly of lone wolf players, led by Shi Kong and the Truth Seeker.

The fifth team consisted of people from the Clock Tower, the Royal Knights Templar, and the Inquisition, including Hohenheim, Li Ang, and Uriel of the Inquisition—originally, Li Ang should have stayed with the lone wolf players,

but the fourth team already had Shi Kong and the Truth Seeker.

Adding him would exceed the standard energy reaction and trigger the *Misu*'s automatic defense.

Moreover, his divine power system was relatively close to that of the Vatican's Inquisition, and staying together would not easily trigger the *Misu*'s deformation mechanism, so it was decided.

As for the sixth team, there was only Michael alone.

Michael would stay outside the cave alone, and if any team encountered unsolvable troubles, he would forcefully attack the *Misu* to provide support.

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