He had seen quite a few monsters, including filthy creatures like scavengers and dung monsters that fed on the rotten corpses and excrement of other creatures.
But compared with the giant heart-stealing insect in front of him, it is nothing.
Because the heart-stealing giant worm brings not only physical disgust, but also mental discomfort that cannot be described in words.
Especially the spiritual energy that fills the surrounding environment, like extremely sharp needles.
When someone approaches, you will immediately feel as if your brain is being poked by thousands of needles.
The intense pain was even more unbearable than any torture inflicted on the body.
Even the unconscious release of psychic powers can cause such a result. It is conceivable how terrible it would be if the giant mind-stealing worm used this power to attack.
Ordinary people can't even feel the pain, and will lose consciousness and thinking in an instant and become an idiot.
In addition, the mucus covering the surface of the giant insect's skin also emits a pungent stench.
Although it is not poisonous, it can cause vomiting if it gets on the face or body.
“It seems that the attack of the Githyanki has caused these mind flayers to have a strong sense of crisis, and they have to resort to this forbidden method to fight back.
If nothing unexpected happens, they train more giant heart-stealing insects to throw them to the upper level to create chaos, minimize the number of Githyanki, and prevent them from raising and training their offspring with peace of mind.
In a confined and narrow space, the damage caused by a giant heart-stealing insect is far more terrifying than that of a dragon.
Be careful, once the battle begins, the giant insects' psionic attacks could alert other mind flayers on this floor at any time."
Zuo Si reminded everyone in the team in a serious tone.
Although he himself has not met a powerful psychic user so far, he is not sure how psychic power developed to its extreme is different from magic and divine arts.
But what is certain is that the leader of this group of mind flayers, Isemiten, is absolutely a true master of the mind.
It is even possible that he is a top-notch mind-destroying demon that can transform himself into a mastermind.
Facing such an enemy, one can never be too cautious.
"Even if we wear the mind protection necklace, can't we resist the psychic attack of this giant insect?" asked the spotted cat man Abara in an uncertain tone.
Zuo Si shook his head gently: "Sorry, no. The main function of the mind protection necklace is to protect your mind and consciousness from mental invasion, and it cannot completely immunize you from mental attacks such as mind piercing and psychic crushing.
In fact, whether it is magic or divine arts, there are no good special targeted protective spells against mental attacks.
If any of you are attacked by Mind Piercing or Psychic Suppression later, please be sure to retreat and drink the healing potion immediately.
That is the only way to avoid death.
Of course, it doesn't matter if you die accidentally, I will revive you after the battle."
"Hahahaha! This sounds really reassuring." Korgan couldn't help but grin.
Because this allowed him to fight without worrying about death, his bloodthirstiness reached an unprecedented level.
As for Alena, the planeswalker's follower, she showed no fear at all and was ready to unleash her powerful fire magic.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Zuo Si made an attack gesture to the Undead Lieutenant beside him without saying a word.
Following the latter's order, a large number of goblin werewolf zombies first raised their crossbows and javelins, aimed at the giant heart-stealing insects not far away and launched a round of long-range attacks.
moment!
Countless arrows and javelins covered the area where the giant insect was lurking like raindrops.
Although most of them were unable to cause any effective damage due to the mucus covering their bodies and their tough skin.
But a small part of it still managed to penetrate the muscle, and blood gushed out along the bloodletting trough.
Since undead creatures are completely immune to all telepathy, the multi-hearted giant worm, which has no organs such as eyes, has no idea who is attacking it.
The intense pain made it furious and crazy on the spot. It raised its head and released a ball of psychic energy.
boom!!!!!!
Accompanied by an invisible force that could not be seen by the naked eye, all the undead within a radius of dozens of meters centered on the giant insect suddenly flew up in an instant, and then were torn to pieces in mid-air.
Obviously, in front of creatures of this level, numbers have long lost any meaning.
But the low-level undead without intelligence had no idea what fear was. They still rushed forward like a tide under the command of the undead lieutenant, waving their weapons to cut the skin, or using their claws and teeth to bite.
After a while, they were densely crawling all over the body of the giant multi-hearted insect.
Although compared with the giant insects, they are like tiny ants gnawing on elephants, and at best they can only cause minor skin injuries.
But the accumulation of so many skin injuries also made the heart-stealing giant insect become more and more violent.
It twisted its body wildly, and with its incredibly terrifying power, it crushed or threw out the undead hanging on its body one by one.
Often, a single powerful blow can kill dozens of goblin werewolf zombies.
In less than five minutes, the summoned undead army was reduced by more than half at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Seeing this scene, Zuo Si immediately realized that he could not wait any longer, otherwise these cannon fodder would be wiped out by the heart-stealing giant insects in a short time.
So he decisively began to concentrate and chant the spell in a low voice.
After a while, a huge hand made of force field appeared out of thin air, grabbed the giant insect's head, pressed it hard to the ground and squeezed it.
No matter how the giant insect struggled and shook its body, it could not break free.
Obviously, this is the [Bigbai Crushing Palm] with the strongest control among the Nine Rings Arcane.
Not only can it provide cover for the caster, but it can also push or squeeze the caster's enemies. It is a kind of magic that combines offense and defense.
Even if it is a giant or a dragon, once it is captured by [Bigbai Crushing Palm], there is absolutely no possibility of breaking free.
After all, the essence of this spell is a force field, and the friction will not be reduced because of the smooth mucus on the surface of the Heart-stealing Giant Worm.
In other words, the force field and the object are not affected by friction at all.
"Now! Go! Kill it!"
Zuo Si gave the order to attack without hesitation.
The pyromancer Alena, who had been unable to contain herself any longer, raised her hand and created a wall of fire, covering most of the giant insect's body in the barbecue area.
For creatures of huge size, large-scale killing spells such as Fire Wall can often cause very shocking damage.
Immediately afterwards, she cast the sixth-ring transmutation magic [Fire Spider], instantly creating a large number of small fire elements that pounced on the giant insect.
Obviously, compared with the mild skin injuries caused by the goblins, werewolves and zombies before, the pain brought by this high-temperature flame is definitely more than ten times that of the former.
Therefore, the giant heart-stealing worm immediately locked onto the caster and suddenly released a mind-piercing attack.
Before anyone could react to what was happening, Alena screamed and fell on her back, clutching her hair with both hands, and her eyeballs seemed to be about to pop out of their sockets.
A lot of blood was flowing from the corners of the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, which looked very scary.
"Quick! Drink this!"
The half-orc Rhett quickly took out a bottle of powerful healing potion, pried open his mouth and fed it to the pyromancer, barely saving his life.
However, it is not difficult to tell from her slow reaction that she has completely lost her fighting ability.
It is impossible to enter a state of concentration on casting a spell, at least for a few hours or even a few days.
"Damn it! This thing's mental attack is too terrifying."
Korgan, who was about to rush forward with an axe for hand-to-hand combat, saw what happened to Alena and an expression of lingering fear suddenly appeared on his face.
This is because mental attacks are too covert. They do not have the bright, dazzling light of magic, nor can they be defended against by parrying or blocking like swords.
By the time a person realizes that they are being attacked by psychic powers, it is often too late.
Fortunately, everyone in the team is now wearing a targeted protective necklace, otherwise they might all become slaves controlled by the heart-stealing giant worm, or its next meal.
Zuo Si didn't care too much about the soldiers' hesitation.
He understood that it would be a bit difficult for Korgan, Rhett and Abara to deal with a huge monster that was thirty or forty meters long and could easily knock a person into the air when it rolled.
Not to mention the mind-stealing giant worm's elusive mind-piercing and psychic crushing.
So after the effect of [Bigbai Crushing Palm] ended, Zuo Si decisively added an eight-ring [Burning Cloud Technique].
As the red high-temperature flames enveloped the giant insect's huge body like a storm, the air soon filled with the aroma of meat mixed with the stench of meat.
“Ss ...
Since the Heart-Stealing Giant Worm has no organs, even if it is in pain, it can only make slight noises through the friction of its teeth and hands.
When it realized who was the enemy that posed the greatest threat to it, it immediately locked onto Zuo Si's location through its psychic abilities.
The next second...
Zuo Si felt a powerful force impacting his brain and thoughts, as if it was going to erase all his memories and personality.
There is no doubt that this is another special ability of the giant insect - [Psychic Crush].
If the target being crushed does not have a strong enough willpower, he will become a vegetable in a matter of minutes and fall to the ground unconscious.
Apart from the wishing spell, no other magic or divine art could heal such terrible and strange injuries.
However, Zuo Si was protected by divine power and sparks, so [Psychic Crush] only made him feel extremely nauseous. He couldn't help but vomit out all the remaining food and bile in his stomach with a "wow".
“Fuck!”
Although he had long anticipated that the psychic powers of the heart-stealing giant worm would be very difficult to deal with, he never expected that even he would not be immune to it.
You have to know that he has divine power in his body! The most typical feature of divine power is that it can provide the owner with a series of immune properties and strong spell resistance.
But even so, they would still be affected by the giant insect's powerful psychic ability.
No wonder the Mind Flayer has such a huge force even in the entire multiverse.
Compared to magic and divine arts, psionic powers, an extremely idealistic power, are really too weird, and mental damage is completely different from energy damage, physical damage, and soul damage.
Just as Zuo Si was vomiting, the giant heart-stealing insect quickly cut a path through the undead army and rushed over from a distance at an extremely fast speed, obviously intending to attack the enemy that posed the greatest threat to it first.
Seeing this, Rhett didn't hesitate for even a second. He immediately rushed forward, wielding the heavy and sharp two-handed axe, and leaped high, chopping it hard at the giant insect's head.
Unfortunately, before he started to fall, a shocking mental shock hit him directly in the chest.
Boom! The Orc warrior didn't even get close to him. He flew out sideways and hit the wall behind him heavily.
However, while the giant insect was attacking Rhett, Korgan and Abara took advantage of the gap to get close.
The latter first threw a sharp enchanted javelin, which penetrated deeply into the giant insect near its head. Then, like a ferocious big cat, he jumped up and grabbed the javelin, twisting it with all his strength, trying to enlarge the wound as much as possible and cause severe bleeding.
Based on this move alone, it is not difficult to judge that the spotted cat man has hunted wild beasts or monsters that are much larger than himself more than once before. He knows that it is impossible to kill such a huge creature with one blow, so he decisively chose the bloodletting tactic.
In contrast, old Korgan was as simple and brutal as ever, wielding two one-handed axes and activating his violent ability. His whole body was like a meat grinder, tearing open the giant insect's tough skin in just a few seconds, revealing large pieces of dark purple flesh and blood inside.
If it were an ordinary monster, it would have been seriously injured even if it didn't die under the joint attack of these two elite warriors.
But unfortunately, the heart-stealing giant worm is not an ordinary monster.
It is essentially a mind flayer tadpole that has broken through its own physiological limits. Its body structure is very primitive and simple, almost no different from an earthworm.
Even if it is cut in half from the middle, it will not die. Instead, it may split into two giant insects.
“Ah ...
Seeing that the giant insect's body had been chopped into pieces but it still showed no sign of dying, old Korgan went completely mad. His eyes were instantly bloodshot, and his short and strong arms were swung like a windmill.
But just a second later, a mind-piercing blow hit him.
In the blink of an eye, the old dwarf fell to the ground with a scream, even dropping the axe in his hand, and banging his head on the ground frantically to vent his pain.
Fortunately, the helmet blocked most of the damage, otherwise my head would have been smashed.
Realizing the danger, the spotted cat man Abara immediately let go of the javelin in his hand, jumped deep into the rocks next to him and hid.
Since the [Thor Stone Walking Technique] on its body has not yet expired, it can still move freely in the rocks.
However, the giant heart-stealing insect obviously did not care about a mere warrior, but focused all its attention on Zuo Si, and pounced on him with its bloody mouth wide open.
But soon, the behemoth realized what a mistake it had made.
When the big, foul-smelling mouth came closer, a dazzling silver light suddenly emerged from Zuo Si's body.
There is no doubt that this is the silver fire bestowed by the Goddess of Magic on her chosen people. It is not only the embodiment of her divine power, but also the most essential and fundamental energy in the depths of the magic network.
As for the flame, it is merely an external manifestation.
Although the giant heart-stealing insect had no eyes, it undoubtedly sensed the dangerous aura through telepathy. It immediately stopped and tried to use the tentacles near its mouth to explore what was going on ahead.
When the tentacles collided with the silver fire, terrifying energy exploded instantly, burning all the tentacles into charred black, and at the same time, a crackling sound like lightning was emitted.
You should know that the tentacles of the mind flayer and the mind flayer tadpoles are the most important organs they use to perceive the outside world, without a doubt.
Therefore, it is densely covered with sensitive nerves.
The pain caused by this immediately made the giant insect twist its body wildly and uncontrollably, releasing a fierce mind-piercing attack.
Relying on his strong physical attributes, Zuo Si endured the blow.
Then he formed the silver fire into the shape of a long spear, aimed at the giant insect's big mouth and stabbed it at lightning speed.
I saw a dazzling silver-white flame flashing in the darkness, and then the entire giant heart-stealing worm emitted a violent psychic impact in all directions with itself as the center, crushing the last remaining undead.
The violent silver fire completely cooked the huge monster in less than a second.
"Huh - finally done."
Looking at the insect corpse so close at hand, Zuo Si cleared the blood around his mouth and nose, and quickly released two healing spells on himself.
Although the giant heart-stealing worm is strictly speaking far from threatening his life, it is still somewhat dangerous.
After all, just based on its huge size and the spiritual energy accumulated from long-term feeding of the brains of intelligent creatures, it is itself a very difficult monster to deal with.
"You...you actually killed a giant heart-stealing insect?!"
Asasra, who had not participated in the battle the whole time and was hiding in an inconspicuous corner, finally came out and exclaimed in a slightly trembling voice.
She simply couldn't believe that there was someone in this world who could actually kill this horrible monster that only existed in legends.
Not to mention killing it! Even those adventurers who have seen the Heart Flayer and survived are rare, and can brag about this experience in taverns and inns in various ways and regard it as an honor.
"Yeah, I put a lot of effort into it."
Zuo Si put away the silver fire and walked closer, raised his wand and cut open the giant insect's body, observing its internal structure with interest, especially the brain that could generate mental energy.
Contrary to what most people think, this thing's brain is not very large. Instead, it looks no different from an ordinary mind flayer.
The only difference is that its density is very high, presenting undulating spiral hills and valleys.
Assasara felt his scalp tingling as he watched Zuo Si skillfully dissect the corpse of a giant insect and take out key organs one after another.
She felt that she must have been petrified for too long, so she began to be unable to keep up with the changes in the world today.
After roughly understanding the physiological structure of the giant heart-stealing worm, Zuo Si immediately pulled up several of his subordinates and teammates who had fallen to the ground one by one, and treated the injured with divine magic.
However, judging from the reactions of Alena, Cogan and Rhett, it would be impossible for them to regain consciousness in a short time.
After all, mental attacks are more dangerous than charm control spells, and the damage they cause to the brain and nerves is more serious. At the very least, you will have to lie down for several hours or even days.
Just as Zuo Si was considering whether to return to the star port first and then open the portal to send the three people back to the Mage Tower to rest, several portals suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Not long after, a dozen Mind Flayers came out from the other side, along with a Mind Destroyer that was taller and stronger than the former.
Without asking, we know that they all felt the mental power released by the giant heart-stealing insect in the previous battle, so they rushed over to see what happened.
After all, the Hearthworm is a secret weapon specially developed to deal with the Githyanki.
当为首的摧心魔看到被大卸八块已经变成“零件”的巨虫，顿时变得怒不可遏，透过心灵连接咆哮道：“你死定了！人类！我会挖出你大脑好好品尝它的味道。”
“如果你能做到的话，那就来试试看吧。”
左思抿起嘴角露出了令人不寒而栗的笑容。
双方没有任何废话，也不需要进行什么交流，从确认是敌人的那一刻起，就已经决定了要不死不休。
伴随着夺心魔率先集体丢出心灵震爆，又一场激烈的战斗开始了。
不过相比起巨虫，夺心魔显然并没有那么难对付。
至少在左思眼中，杀死一个普通夺心魔跟碾死一只蚂蚁并没有本质上的区别。
往往一发索命咒或者自己发明的复合咒语，就能干掉这些让人感到极度不舒服的章鱼头。
如果某些家伙给自己加持了防护法术或魔法抗性比较高一下没死，那就再补一发。
由于不需要吟唱咒语和施法动作，因此在带头的摧心魔才刚刚开始通过心灵能力扭曲现实的时候，左思已经成功干掉了六个普通的夺心魔。
之前躲进岩石墙壁里的斑猫人也突然跳出来从别后发动袭击，成功干掉了两个。
其中一个是被利爪掐断了喉咙，另外一个则是被锋利的标枪贯穿脑袋当场死亡。
至于身为龙裔的阿萨斯拉，才一个照面就被对方心灵控制，加入了攻击左思的行列。
没办法！ 跟掌握魅惑法术和心灵异能的生物战斗，会发生类似的情况简直再正常不过了。
唯一值得庆幸的是，阿萨斯拉原本的装备都被寇根搜刮走了，因此她身上只有一把普通的长剑，根本无法造成什么有效伤害。
左思仅用【比格拜击飞掌】便将其按在一旁的墙壁上动弹不得。
失去强大魔法武器和装备的战士就是如此可悲，根本无法对高阶施法者造成哪怕一丁点的威胁。
左思甚至都懒得去帮这个龙裔接触被控制的状态，直接与斑猫人联手以最快速度清理掉普通夺心魔。
由于自身完全免疫心灵入侵和魅惑控制，所以大部分仅依靠天赋能力混饭吃的低级夺心魔，拿他根本没有什么太好的办法。
大概几分钟左右就死了个干净。
但为首的摧心魔显然就没那么好对付了。
这家伙明显是一个等级非常高的心灵术士，甚至能通过加快自身时间流速来达到出其不意的偷袭效果。
除此之外，他还不止一次尝试着想要占据左思的身体并取而代之。
这是一种非常高深的心灵异能，只有最强大的心灵术士才有可能做到。
通过不停更换年轻的身体，心灵术士甚至可以做到长生不老和永生不死。
只可惜，左思体内拥有神力保护，所以这种尝试注定是不可能占据成功。
摧心魔很快也发现了这一点，迅速转变战术思路，开始使用一些力场、能量或者之际伤害性法术进行攻击，再不就是想要把左思的意识拉近自己创造的幻象中关起来。
凭借强大的心灵异能，他最终抓住了一个机会，瞬间将其意识拖入到一个完全由精神维持的虚拟世界。
左思本人甚至根本什么都没有察觉到，仅仅是感到了一阵恍惚，然后便发现两眼一黑失去了外界的感知。
不过在最后关头，他还是成功释放出银火将自己的身体包裹起来。
也不知道过了多久，也许是几秒钟、也许是几分钟、也许是几个小时……
总之当再次恢复清醒的时候，发现周围的环境从地脉迷城第十七层变成了位于深水城的哈欠之门酒馆。
“啊！你终于醒了！”酒馆老板杜南从远处走过来笑着打了声招呼。“你可真是个幸运儿。要知道受了那么重的伤还能活着回来，我这辈子还是第一次见到。”
“受伤？”
左思下意识皱起眉头，立刻察觉得有什么地方不对劲。
因为他的记忆力跟普通人可不太一样，能够记得经历过的每一个刹那和细节，非常清楚最后时刻自己正在跟一个强大的摧心魔首领战斗。
“是啊！不光是你，还有你的那些队友们。我帮你们请了牧师。”
说着，杜南把目光投向外满的酒吧大厅。
只见矮人寇根正坐在吧台上，一边喝着最昂贵的烈酒，一边跟其他冒险者吹嘘自己的冒险生涯。
坐在他旁边的则是半兽人瑞特，十分豪爽撕咬着烤到金黄色的羊腿。
阿莱娜一如既往的嗜酒如命，时不时还会用魔法伎俩弄出明亮刺眼的焰火逗得一群半身人和侏儒哈哈大笑。
斑猫人阿巴拉独自坐在不起眼的角落里，享受着自己最喜欢的鲜肉和鲜鱼。
仿佛一切看上去是那么的温馨与美好。
但左思却敏锐的发现，自己看到的景象非常不真实。
其中最明显的漏洞就是阿莱娜。
作为旅法师的召唤生物和随从，尽管她本人是一个不折不扣的“逗逼”和“乐子人”。
但与其他召唤生物一样都忠心耿耿，绝对不会在主人失去意识的时候只顾自己享乐，而是会守候在一旁直至旅法师醒来。
想到这，左思不动声色的缓缓从床上爬起来往外走。
杜南也不阻拦，反而回到吧台倒了一杯酒放在他的面前，面带微笑的说道：“这一杯我请。敬从地脉迷城中归来的英雄。”
“谢谢……”
盯着摆在自己面前的琥珀色酒精饮料，左思眼睛里闪过一丝不易别差觉到的冷笑，瞬间确定眼前这个杜南绝对是假的。
因为真正的哈欠之门酒馆的老板，是知道他绝对不喝任何酒水，只会提供干净的清水，亦或是一杯烧开的热奶。
不过左思并没有急着拆穿对方，而是自顾自开始在酒馆内闲逛，与不同的人进行交流。
大概十分钟左右，他就发现这里虽然跟深水城真正的哈欠之门酒馆无论是气味、氛围、感觉都一模一样，但还是有不少隐蔽的漏洞。
比如说门上和窗户上一些经常被忽略的装饰跟摆设就跟真正的哈欠之门酒馆有所差异；
再比如说那些冒险者打扮的家伙，有差不多三分之一都跟自己的情况十分相似，也是在跟夺心魔的战斗中莫名其妙失去意识，等醒来的时候就发现自己回到了酒馆内。
最后，也是最致命的一点，那些摆放在书架上供客人消遣娱乐的书，除了封皮之外，翻开里边便会发现全部都是空白的，没有哪怕一个文字和符号。
而且每当左思靠近大门想要走出去的时候，基本不是被突然走过来的其他冒险者打断，就是外面的天气会变得非常糟糕。
如果一次两次是这样还有情可原，但连续七八次都是这样，差不多就可以断定这里绝对有问题。
另外，左思还发现遇到类似情况的并不只有自己，但酒馆老板杜南私下里给出的解释却并不一样，有时候说是因为正在全城封锁，还有的时候说是在庆祝某个节日。
要是有人想要进入竖井地下继续探索地面迷城，他又会声称疯法师海拉斯特·黑袍用魔法封闭了地城。
反正这一切谎言背后的动机只有一个，那就是把所有人都牢牢控制在酒馆内部。
“一个通过强大心灵力量创造出来的虚拟世界吗？有意思……”
左思脸上浮现出了意味深长的表情。
他以前在烛堡的图书管里看到过一本书，上边记载了夺心魔的主脑可以创造出一个由精神构成的虚拟世界，并把所有奴隶的意识拉入其中。
尽管在现实世界中，他们每天都要累死累活的工作，搞不好还会成为某个夺心魔的口粮。
可在虚拟世界中，被奴役的生物们往往都过着自己梦寐以求的生活，甚至每天可以换着花样跟美丽的异性邂逅并发生一些不可描述的事情。
毫无疑问，夺心魔正是通过这样的方式来瓦解奴役的反抗意识。
只不过让左思没想到的是，那名摧心魔首领居然可以凭借一己之力做到这一点。
而这恰恰证明了，他肯定是那种拥有将自己转化成为主脑能力的灵能大师。
每一个夺心魔社区或者城市的建立，都意味着一名站在族群进化顶点的摧心魔舍弃肉体贡献出自己的大脑。
然后经过一系列复杂的灵能仪式和技术改造，这颗大脑会成为主脑最初的核心。
紧跟着超过二十名以上的夺心魔也会放弃生命贡献出自己的大脑，最终才会形成一个强大无比的主脑。
搞清楚真相之后，左思连一秒钟都没有停留，直接开始通过自身坚定的意志不断质疑周围环境的真实性。
短短几分钟左右，他就成功摆脱环境的束缚让意识重新回归到身体。
When he opened his eyes again, he was still standing on the seventeenth level of the dark and humid underground maze - the deep sea. Not far away was the giant heart-stealing worm that had been killed and dissected.
But the leader of the Heart-Destroying Demon disappeared.
Obviously, the moment Zuo Si broke free from control, he chose to escape without hesitation.
Not only that, when this guy left, he did not forget to take away captives such as Korgan, Alena, Rhett, Asasra, and Abara.
In addition, the heads of all the dead mind flayers were pried open and their brains were taken out.
"Let me see what secrets you octopus heads have hidden on this floor."
After muttering something quietly, Zuo Si quickly cast a small amount of protective spells on himself, then quickly headed deeper into the cave.
He understood that the mind flayers took the captives away for two purposes: one was to use them to parasitize adult tadpoles and thus transform into more mind flayers, and the other was to use them as hostages.
Following the increasingly narrow passage, Zuo Si soon arrived at the location of the psychic turbine generator.
As expected, the mind flayers used slaves and psychic energy to build a dam at a higher water level, using the force of the water flow to drive psychic machinery to generate the energy necessary to maintain the entire community.
Keep going forward and you will see many vertical psychic storages.
Out of curiosity, he carefully opened several of them and found that lying inside were basically either captured Githyanki or adventurers who had gone deep into the maze of the underground.
Some of them have obviously been parasitized by tadpoles, and their bodies are undergoing drastic changes, looking creepy.
However, Zuo Si, who knew nothing about psychic power, did not rashly wake up these poor guys, nor did he touch the pipes connecting the surrounding psychic warehouse.
Because he knew that the mind flayers' psychic technology was very advanced.
If the prisoner is roughly pulled out of the cabin and awakened by "physical" means, the most likely possibility is that this guy will go completely crazy or become an unconscious vegetable.
By the same token, directly pulling out the tube will result in the same result.
In this way, Zuo Si moved forward all the way without encountering any enemies or resistance. He reached the center of the entire seventeenth floor effortlessly, and then saw a spiral-shell ship floating in the air.
However, this snail-shell ship obviously looked like it had experienced a great battle, with marks of cuts, smashes and burns all over it, most likely caused by the battle with the Githyanki magic ship.
Below the ship, two brass dragons that were obviously controlled and enslaved were roaring deafeningly at him, the intruder.
Just as Zuo Si was about to take action to deal with the two brass dragons first, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Human! Stop it. I admit that you are powerful, much more powerful than any adventurer I have encountered before. So why don't we sit down and talk?"
Without asking, one would know that the owner of this voice was the leader of the Heart-Destroying Demon that they had just encountered.
"Ha! You kidnapped all my subordinates and companions, and now you say you want to talk?" Zuo Si's tone was filled with naked and undisguised mockery.
But the Heart Destroyer was not angry. Instead, he said calmly, "I assure you that they are safe now and have not suffered any harm. As long as you can reach a consensus with me, I can return them to you at any time."
"In that case, then tell me your conditions."
Zuo Si did not rush to launch an attack, but wanted to see what this guy was planning to do.
After all, the mad wizard Halaster Blackrobed has banned all teleportation in the Underworld City, so even if the enemy has a conch shell ship, don't expect to escape.
Moreover, if he couldn't initiate astral teleportation, such a huge target would be nothing more than a large target in his eyes.
"My conditions are simple. First, we must reach a reconciliation and no longer engage in hostilities. Second, you and your companions must help us destroy the Githyanki on the sixteenth floor of the Crystalline Labyrinth, as well as their hatching base at the starport. In return, I can provide you with a lot of gold, gems, and magic items in return."
The Heart-Destroying Demon calmly stated his conditions.
Without the giant heart-stealing insect that he had cultivated with great difficulty, he had lost his secret weapon to deal with his mortal enemy, the Githyanki, so he had to rely on outside forces.
As for the two enslaved brass dragons, they must serve as guards of the Snail Shell at all times.
Otherwise, if there is a surprise attack here, all ambitions and plans will be meaningless.
"Help you deal with the Githyanki? You are dreaming!" Zuo Si pretended to be disdainful and said sarcastically. "Not only are the Githyanki well-equipped, but they also have a large number of golems as guards, and they also have the help of red dragon allies. Why should I offend another more powerful enemy for the sake of one enemy?"
moment!
The Heartbreaker fell silent.
If possible, he now particularly wants to use psychic invasion to perceive the other party's thoughts, find out what this human in front of him is thinking, and how to make him agree to cooperate with him.
But unfortunately, the barrier formed by divine power blocks all mind-detecting spells.
Just as the Heart-Destroying Demon leader was thinking about how to persuade Zuo Si, the Furu cub that he had taken in before flew down from the Snail Shell Ship silently.
Due to its small size, it did not attract the attention of the Heart-Destroying Demon. It secretly hid behind Zuo Si and transmitted and shared everything it saw and heard through telepathy.
After a while, Zuo Si figured out the situation inside the conch shell ship.
Especially the huge brain pool that had been built at the core of the ship, which made him completely understand the Heart Destroyer's plan.
There is no doubt that this guy is actively planning to transform himself into a mastermind.
However, the constant attacks from the Githyanki on the 16th floor made it impossible for him to put his plan into action.
After all, the transformation takes time, and during this period he will be in a very weak state and will not be able to lead other mind flayers to resist attacks from their mortal enemies.
If there is another fierce attack like the one not long ago, then everything that has been built with great difficulty will be wiped out, and I might even die.
No Githyanki would pass up the merit and honor that comes with destroying an elder brain.
They can even return to the star realm with such merits and receive honors personally from Her Majesty the Queen in their old nest.
Likewise, Zuo Si also figured out the internal structure of the Conch Shell and the location of the command room. There was no need to continue to play along with the Heart Destroying Demon leader...
(End of this chapter)