Chapter 8

Faced with this sudden attack, the entire adventure team immediately fell into chaos. The clawed beasts were high up in the food chain underground, with shells as hard as rock covering their bodies like armor. Their massive, scissor-like claws could easily cut a person in half at the waist. They were fierce, skilled in combat, and tireless.

For any adventure team, the clawed beasts were a formidable and troublesome enemy.

A monster nearly three meters tall leaped out beside Zane. It opened its sharp beak and let out a harsh, unpleasant cry. Its sharp claws, accompanied by the whistling wind, tore through the darkness, lunging towards the mage.

However, Zane's reaction was much faster than the clawed beast had anticipated.

Although as a mage, he should have tried to maintain distance and look for an opportunity to counterattack when facing a clawed beast, Zane did not do so. In fact, he did not even move in the face of the clawed beast. He simply extended his hand and pointed forward.

In the next moment, roaring flames spewed out from Zane's fingers, completely enveloping the clawed beast. These were not just ordinary flames; they writhed like snakes, quickly extending into the cracks of the clawed beast's rock-like shell.

Before the massive claws could crush Zane's head, the clawed beast stopped moving. It writhed in pain, retreating backward. The shell that was supposed to protect it had now become its most lethal threat. The raging flames mercilessly devoured its flesh, burning even more fiercely.

The clawed beast now resembled a walking stone furnace, with flames burning inside but unable to escape. The solid stone armor prevented the flames from leaking out, causing the clawed beast unprecedented pain.

"Swish...!!"

As the clawed beast tried to break free from the flames, Enoa had already stepped in front of Zane. She extended her right hand and swung it forward—thunder and lightning condensed into a whip, appearing in the hands of the undead girl. It left a series of dazzling illusions in the air and struck the massive body of the clawed beast with great force.

"Boom!!"

The loud sound of the lightning whip hitting the clawed beast's body shook the entire tunnel, with dust continuously falling. The reverberating sound in the tunnel even made the others struggle to stand firm. The unfortunate clawed beast was directly whipped away, colliding with the corner of the tunnel. Rocks shattered and fell, burying the massive body—no one could tell what was there anymore.

The loud noise also attracted the attention of the other combatants. The thunder and lightning, which only appeared on the surface, were a novel experience for any underground inhabitant, especially when it exploded right next to their ears.

At the same time, the succubi began to act.

They emerged from the void, emitting shrill screams, and spread their arms, lunging towards the clawed beasts. From their appearance, these succubi seemed so delicate and fragile that a single slap from the clawed beasts would be enough to shatter them into pieces.

But in reality, it was not so. The angry attacks passed through the succubi's bodies without causing any harm. Instead, the succubi extended their arms, easily penetrating the clawed beasts' impenetrable armor, grabbing hold of their insides.

Soul and life.

Sensing the approach of death, the clawed beast began to counterattack. It abandoned the goblin it had been mauling, screaming and trembling, retreating backward. But the succubi held on tightly, as if connected by an invisible chain. She widened her dark eye sockets, opened her mouth, and soon, a stream of white light emerged from the clawed beast's face, coalescing into a small stream and being sucked into the succubi's mouth.

Immediately, the massive, lifeless body collapsed.

The ambush came quickly and ended just as fast. In the blink of an eye, five clawed beasts were completely eliminated. For the adventurers, these monsters were terrifying beasts. But for the undead, all living beings were merely fragile toys.

However, even so, Verna's adventure team suffered some damage. Five goblins and three half-orc warriors died in the ambush. They all died in the initial attack. In addition, many others were injured to varying degrees.

"Damn it!!"

While directing her mercenaries to take items from the dead bodies for "recycling," Verna stomped her foot angrily. This was a bad start. Encountering five clawed beasts at once was rare underground. Even Verna was unsure whether this was good luck or bad luck.

Thinking about this, she glanced at Zane and Enoa standing not far away. This time, a hint of hesitation appeared in Verna's eyes.

Although Zane did not show much in the battle, Verna had already noticed that he was a very powerful mage. On the surface, everything Zane did seemed ordinary, something any mage could do. But Verna knew very well how powerful Zane's magic was.

Even for mages, clawed beasts were formidable enemies. Their hard armor not only resisted weapons but also magic attacks. Yet Zane could easily manipulate the magical flames to penetrate the skin's gaps, a skill Verna had only seen in the most powerful mages in the dark elf city.

Not to mention, Zane was a necromancer, and elemental magic was not his specialty. If Zane had used a necromantic spell to kill the clawed beast, Verna would not have been surprised. But the fact that he used an elemental spell, which necromancers were not good at, to kill a clawed beast was shocking to Verna.

If not for the thermal vision of the dark elves, which clearly showed a living being under the black cloak, Verna might have suspected that it was a lich that had lived for hundreds or thousands of years.

Zane noticed Verna's probing but did not care. At that moment, he was standing in front of a clawed beast's corpse, whispering to his subordinate.

"This doesn't make sense... Why would the clawed beasts come here? This is not their hunting ground, and there is nothing here worth their attention."

Looking at the dead body, Zane shook his head. Since his underground city was near a clawed beast's habitat, he was very familiar with their habits.

"I think they seem a bit off."

Enoa shared the same view as her master. Clawed beasts were not stupid, but they were not geniuses. Their fighting style just now was no different from a group of idiots. If these creatures were so easy to deal with, Zane and Enoa would have already cleaned up the surrounding area long ago.

"They are indeed off."

Zane did not doubt Enoa's judgment. The reason was simple: the battle information on the system panel in front of him already revealed the truth.

[Succubi Guard attacked a "controlled clawed beast," causing 20x3 points of damage]

[Succubi Guard attacked a "controlled clawed beast," causing 30x3 points of damage, critical hit +5]

[Succubi Guard killed a "controlled clawed beast," gaining 130 experience points]

...

Seeing this, Zane's heart skipped a beat. Controlling a clawed beast was not easy, even for Zane. Killing these monsters was easy, but making them obey was difficult. From the current situation, it was clear that the clawed beasts were being controlled by something. Moreover, the enemy had likely detected their arrival, otherwise, they would not have set up an ambush here.

"It seems we might encounter an interesting enemy this time."

Zane withdrew his gaze from the clawed beast's corpse and muttered to himself. He had no idea who was controlling the clawed beasts. This was not due to a lack of clues but because there were too many races in the Underdark capable of such feats. In the worst case, there might even be an illithid.

If that were the case, even as a demon, Zane would find it somewhat troublesome.

Somewhat.

"Sir Mage."

Just as Zane was frowning in thought, a voice came from the side. He looked up to see Verna standing not far away, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Noticing Zane's gaze, Verna's right hand twitched slightly, as if she wanted to do something. But in the end, she only reached for the hilt of her sword, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down before speaking to Zane.

"Sir Mage, I believe you have already noticed that this place is very dangerous. I think that if we continue to spread out as before, it might cause unnecessary losses for both sides. If possible..."

Here, Verna clearly hesitated. She did not want to do this, but her subordinates clearly hoped that the necromancer would be on their side. After all, they had seen the power of the mage. A monster that they could not kill with all their might was easily dispatched by the other side. Such power was not something just anyone had.

Therefore, most of Verna's subordinates hoped that the necromancer would "take care" of them. After all, they had the same goal, and helping each other would be beneficial.

Verna was not very willing, but since her subordinates had spoken, she had to come and ask. After all, Verna also hoped to minimize her losses. Otherwise, even if they completed the mission, she would not receive much benefit when she returned to Brandon Stone City.

Verna knew very well what the gray dwarves were like.

But Zane did not say much. Instead, he simply waved his hand and said,

"I understand. I will go with you."