Chapter 105: Entering the Abyss

Shandian couldn't help but fall silent.

She knew Idis was right. If the pit was really that deep, the consequences of falling would be unimaginable. If the answer was the latter, and magic was being interfered with by something, the situation would be even more complicated. If there just happened to be large God's Stone of Retaliation at the bottom of the pit, that would be one thing, but if it was an enemy's trap, it would be too dangerous for the rescuers.

Those scythe-like demonic beasts that came and went without a trace, and the worm carrier that devoured the demonic stone tower, could all be hiding in this snow mountain. Without the warning of Nightingale and Sylvie, and the cover of the First Army, even a God's Punishment Witch might not be able to bring Fulan back safely.

The little girl took a deep breath.

However, exploration itself was full of dangers.

A qualified explorer shouldn't abandon their companions to die.

"Let me go down and take a look," she said, walking up to the arguing parties. "No matter what we're going to do next, we need to find out what's at the bottom of the cave first."

"Your ability is..." The blonde man turned his head and asked. Shandian remembered that his name seemed to be Elena, although his body was male, his soul was a true Taquila ancient witch.

"Flying," she tapped the goggles on her head. "In this situation, I'm more suited to scout than you are."

"It's not a matter of convenience," Agatha frowned. "What if you can't use your abilities at the bottom of the cave? How will you come back? His Majesty said that this search is not allowed to be carried out alone. Whether it's the Witch Union or Taquila, we must advance steadily with the cooperation of the First Army."

"It's best to tie a rope around my waist," Shandian offered her idea. "If it's really a magic-forbidden zone created by the God's Stone of Retaliation, I won't be in any great danger. As long as you see the rope hanging down the cave wall, just pull me up."

An explorer doesn't abandon their companions, but that doesn't mean acting rashly. She had heard many thrilling emergencies from her father when she was a child. As long as they were handled properly, most accidents could be turned into safety.

Even without magic, she was still the most outstanding explorer!

"Let me go with her," Nightingale interjected. "There's no distinction between up and down in the Misty World. I can easily walk on the cliffs. Even if enemies appear, I can cover her return immediately."

"How is that different from acting alone?" Wendy shook her head repeatedly. "What if there's a trap below? The two of you can't handle it at all. Don't forget that there are powerful enemies in this world like High Awakenings!"

"We will never leave Fulan behind, no matter what. If you don't go, we'll go ourselves!" Elena said in a deep voice.

"Has four hundred years made you forget the importance of obeying orders?" Agatha's voice also became serious. "In the name of a High Witch of Taquila, I order you not to act without authorization!"

"..." Hearing this, all the God's Punishment Witches fell silent. Elena bit her lip, and finally took two steps back and saluted with her hand on her chest.

"You don't need to argue about this kind of thing," Idis suddenly said. "According to His Majesty's instructions, the exploration operation must be carried out jointly by the three parties, so we just need to send the First Army down, right?"

"You've found a way down?" Brian, the head of the First Army, asked in astonishment.

"I didn't find a way, but I found this," she pointed to a cliff next to the cave entrance. In the light of the torch, the rock wall appeared to flicker with light—that was the shimmering light refracted by the flowing water. "The cement boat used to cook porridge has a set of lifting equipment. I often see them hanging food directly from other supply ships instead of carrying it by hand."

"Ah... you're talking about the hanging basket system," Brian nodded. "It can indeed transport a large amount of goods at once, but it needs to be driven by a steam engine..."

"So, as long as we move the boat's machine here, we can transport two machine gun squads at the same time and enter this deep pit with the witches," Idis said word by word. "The length of the rope can be extended by connecting it. The heavy machine shouldn't be a problem for the God's Punishment Witches. There's water here, so it can keep running, and the retreat route required by His Majesty can also be satisfied.

The only problem is how to dismantle it. Someone in the First Army should be able to do that, right?"

Brian hesitated for a moment, "It's no problem to dismantle it, but if you want to put it back together..."

"Then it's just a loss of a boat and a steam engine," Idis raised her eyebrows. "Adding up, it's only five or six hundred gold royals. What do you think His Majesty would choose?"

Five or six hundred... Shandian couldn't help but twitch her lips. That wasn't a small amount, was it?

Brian didn't think for too long and soon nodded, "I understand. You'll get a steam engine soon."

...

Half an hour later, there was a roaring machine beside the pit—after the cantilever of the hanging basket system was moved over, it was found that it was difficult to fix it on the rock, so this part of the equipment was simply discarded, and only the winch was used as a winding tool. The flywheel of the steam engine drove the heavy winch to rotate back and forth, sending sections of hemp rope directly into the big pit. In order to prevent the rock wall from breaking the hemp rope, Agatha summoned solid ice to wrap around the entrance of the cave, so that the rope could move smoothly downward.

At the end of the hemp rope was a huge iron basket, enough to carry six people and two Mark I heavy machine guns. Even if the witches lost their combat ability, the machine gun team could provide powerful fire cover.

The first batch of people to take the hanging basket were Agatha, Elena, and six First Army soldiers. Shandian and Nightingale accompanied them.

When the lifting device was debugged, everyone slowly sank into the deep pit, and the fire above their heads became increasingly dim.

Shandian tied a rope and flew in the middle and lower part of the cave, leading the way for the people behind her. She was a little unaccustomed to having Maisie not by her side, but someone had to be left to guard outside the snow mountain. Compared to monitoring the movements of the demonic beasts, she still wanted to unravel the mystery of the underground ruins more.

She would look back every ten meters or so.

The fire of the outpost was almost covered by darkness, and the only thing that was shining was the two luminous magic stones of the hanging basket—the soft and stable light illuminated a light golden "ribbon," which was the ice layer that Agatha had left all the way on the rock wall. The solid ice filled the rugged rocks, making it a smooth mirror. Only in this way could the group ensure a smooth descent.

After flying for about a hundred meters, Shandian's heart sank little by little.

The chances of survival for ordinary people falling from this height were slim. The only thing she could hope for was that the vitality of the worm carrier was particularly tenacious.

At this moment, she noticed an unusual reflection under her feet.

The light was very dim, as if the darkness had opened its eyes, like a flickering slit. Shandian used the luminous magic stone to send two signals to the side, held her breath and accelerated her descent, and then stepped on a hard and smooth bedrock.

She bent down and gently touched the "ground". The surface of the dark stone was as smooth as a crystal, and the ink-colored reflection was mixed with a touch of indelible crimson...

She had seen this thing.

It was the huge black stone tower in the demonic camp.